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Thoughts of June A World Record 348th Stakes Winner For Galileo

Aptly-named Aidan O'Brien trainee Thoughts of June (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) finished behind Above The Curve (American Pharoah) tackling one mile at Leopardstown in her juvenile season closer last October and again when that reopposing rival attained TDN Rising Star status over the same course and distance last month. Sent postward at odds of 7-1 for Wednesday's Listed Weatherbys Bloodstock Pro Cheshire Oaks at Chester, she gained some measure of revenge to shed maiden status in game fashion. Thoughts of June was quickly into stride and led passing the judge first time, but required encouragement to remain in control with a half mile remaining. Under increased pressure thereafter, she dipped into plentiful reserves in the home straight and was driven out inside the final furlong to withstand the late threat of 5-4 favourite Above The Curve by a neck for a career high in this G1 Epsom Oaks trial. Thoughts of June's win thrust Galileo beyond Danehill, becoming a world-record 348th stakes winner for her sire.

Indeed, thoughts are of June, specifically Epsom's June 3 G1 Cazoo Oaks, and she now rates as a general 14-1 ante-post chance for that Classic. “I think we have to be thinking of Epsom,” Coolmore's Kevin Buckley confirmed. “Aidan [O'Brien] will have a chat with the owners, which include our partners Moyglare Stud, but I think on that performance we'd have to head to Epsom. Aidan always felt that stepping her up in trip would be to her liking, he thought she'd handle it round the bends here and Ryan [Moore] was very happy. We made plenty of use of her at Leopardstown last time and it was always the plan to do that today, but she's fairly versatile I would imagine. We'll have to see what else happens in the trials. We were very happy with Tuesday in the Guineas and she seems to have come out of it well. We're looking forward to June.”

The trainer concurred. “We've always liked her a lot and I loved her run the first day back at Leopardstown behind Joseph's filly [Above The Curve],” he added. “I thought she'd come forward from that and she clearly did. She got a great ride from Ryan and they are obviously two very good fillies as Joseph's ran a great race too. We'd been thinking of the Oaks for her and that was the reason for sending her to Chester, to see if she'd handle it and it was going to teach her plenty. I haven't had chance to speak to Ryan, but she seemed to handle the [soft] ground fine and seems versatile.”

Thoughts of June is the latest of three foals, all by Galileo (Ire), and second winner produced by GI Del Mar Oaks heroine and six-time elite-level placegetter Discreet Marq (Marquetry), herself kin to three black-type performers headed by dual stakes-winning full-brother Too Discreet, and who was acquired by the Moyglare operation for a whopping $2.4-million at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 2014 November fixture. The April-foaled grey's stakes-winning second dam To Marquet (Marquetry), who also ran second in the GIII Tempted S., is a daughter of three-time stakes victrix Pretty Momma (Concorde Bound). Pretty Momma, in turn, is a half-sister to MGSW sire Unreal Turn (Unreal Zeal) and Shananie's Boss (Shananie), who saluted four times at black-type level, and hails from the family of GI Oaklawn H. and GI Arlington Classic-winning sire Lost Code (Codex).

Wednesday, Chester, Britain
WEATHERBYS BLOODSTOCK PRO CHESHIRE OAKS (FOR THE ROBERT SANGSTER MEMORIAL CUP)-Listed, £87,500, Chester, 5-4, 3yo, f, 11f 75yT, 2:31.64, sf.
1–THOUGHTS OF JUNE (IRE), 128, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Discreet Marq (GISW-US, $1,268,972), by Discreet Cat
2nd Dam: To Marquet, by Marquetry
3rd Dam: Pretty Momma, by Concorde Bound
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Moyglare Stud Farm, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Moyglare Stud Farm (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £49,621. Lifetime Record: 4-1-2-0, $68,983 *348th stakes winner for sire.
2–Above The Curve, 128, f, 3, American Pharoah–Fabulous (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (KY); T-Joseph O'Brien. £18,813.
3–Typewriter (Ire), 128, f, 3, Gleneagles (Ire)–On Location, by Street Cry (Ire). (19,000gns Wlg '19 TATFOA; 26,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Mrs Fitri Hay; B-Castle Farm Stud (IRE); T-Andrew Balding. £9,415.
Margins: NK, 3 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 7.00, 1.25, 9.00.
Also Ran: Moon de Vega (GB), Hello Jumeirah (GB), Wynter Wildes (GB), Night Battle (Ire), Improvise (Fr), Morning Poem (GB). Scratched: Makinmedoit (Ire).

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Cotter: ‘Ascot-Bound Matilda Picotte Not For Sale At Any Price’

No amount of money will persuade the owners of impressive Curragh maiden winner Matilda Picotte (Ire) (Sioux Nation) to give up on their dream of walking into the winner's enclosure at Royal Ascot, according to the filly's trainer Kieran Cotter, who said “everyone wants a slice” of the Queen Mary-bound speedster.

Matilda Picotte maintained the flying start of Coolmore's first-season sire Sioux Nation by making all to score on debut at the Curragh on Monday and, in doing so, she landed some hefty wagers.

The owners of the filly are not for selling, with Cotter revealing a number of potential suitors have already been turned away, and connections of Matilda Picotte are now keen to roll the dice with the classy prospect.

Cotter explained, “The phone has been hopping mad since Monday. Everyone is looking for a slice of her but she's not for sale at this point at least. The lads are going to sit quiet. There are a few lads involved in her so, if they were to sell her now, she would make a lot of money but, by the time you divided it all up, it wouldn't be a life-changing amount for everyone involved.

“As well as that, there a couple of lads involved who have had no luck with horses for years so, now that they have found one who is potentially smart enough to take them to Royal Ascot, they are prepared to roll the dice. This is the first turn they are after getting out of horses so I would say that they are in no hurry to cash in.”

Matilda Picotte is the fourth horse by Sioux Nation to have won its maiden at the first time of asking and it didn't come as a surprise to those closest to the filly given they backed her from odds as big as 40-1 down to a starting price of just 8-1.

Cotter said, “When you go to a Curragh maiden first time out, you know that you could bump into anything, but we thought it would take a very smart horse to beat her. She opened up at 40-1 and we backed her into 5-1 before she went back out to 8-1 on the off. We had a few quid on but, in hindsight, we should have had more on.”

He added, “Jim Ryan bred the filly and it was a bit of a coincidence that her half-sister Ginsburg (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) won an apprentices' handicap on the same day. She was working really well about a month ago and we said, half jokingly, Queen Mary here we come-we're going to Royal Ascot. Now it looks like it could be a reality.”

Before then, Matilda Picotte could be aimed at the Marble Hill S. at the Curragh on May 21, with Cotter making the wider point that these big-race ambitions wouldn't be possible if he were training over jumps in Ireland.

He explained, “We will go for the Marble Hill S. at the Curragh next and then hopefully it will be all systems go for Royal Ascot. The dream is alive.

“It's easier to get a good horse on the Flat in Ireland as the jumps is just monopolised by a handful of trainers. It's probably even more financially viable for owners to go and buy a horse on the Flat as well because there is a much quicker turnaround.”

He added, “None of our horses cost more than €20,000 or €30,000. You wouldn't get a third grade jumps horse at the store sales for that sort of money.”

“We've six 2-year-olds, two of which have won already, and with a bit of luck we'll have another few juvenile winners because they are a nice bunch. Most of our winners are in the speed category-five or six furlongs.”

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Half to Tepin Debuts at Gowran

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wednesday's Insights features Cologne, a half-brother to Tepin.

5.20 Gowran Park, Mdn, €13,000, 3yo/up, 8fT
COLOGNE (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is the 10th foal out of Life Happened (Stravinsky), whose claim to fame is being the dam of the accomplished Tepin (Bernstein), heroine of the G1 Queen Anne S. and GI Breeders' Cup Mile among others. Also a half-brother to the dual Grade II scorer Vyjack (Into Mischief), the March-foaled bay represents Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor and Smith and Ballydoyle along with the fellow unnraced colt Middlemarch (Ire) (Caravaggio), whose dam is a full-sister to the stable's G2 Royal Lodge S. winner Mohawk (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

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Same Fight, New Arena

In the year of Appleby vs O'Brien, Chester's Roodeye is an apt setting for the latest gladiatorial encounter between racing's two superpowers with the G3 Boodles Chester Vase seeing another stand-off between Moulton Paddocks and Rosegreen. While the extended 12-furlong Derby trial is small potatoes in comparison with the epic clashes in the Classics and Royal Ascot, how Godolphin's exciting New London (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) deals with Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will either continue or change the current conversation. The former, who hails from the family of Masked Marvel (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) and Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), is priced in single figures for the Blue Riband at present and despite the obvious promise of his smooth win in a 10-furlong Newmarket novice Apr. 13, he will need to put on a show here to justify that kind of confidence. Changingoftheguard, who sports the increasingly-familiar Westerberg silks, will probably have to do more than his six-length maiden win at Dundalk at the start of last month but he has the perfect profile for the race that his trainer has won a record nine times including six times with a son of Galileo.

A Cut Above?
Joseph O'Brien's horses are striking form at present and the preceding Listed Weatherbys Bloodstock Pro Cheshire Oaks sees the stable's Above the Curve (American Pharoah) bid to justify favouritism and book a ticket to Epsom. Her 2 1/2-length defeat of Ballydoyle's re-opposing Thoughts of June (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in a 10-furlong Leopardstown maiden Apr. 6 earned her a place in the pantheon of TDN Rising Stars and the relative of Giant's Causeway and Gleneagles (IRE) and co has now to prove worthy. She takes on the likes of Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa's Apr. 6 Lingfield novice scorer Night Battle (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) and a clutch of other aspiring Epsom candidates in the first of several debutante's balls leading to the first Friday in June.

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