The winner cruised up to track the early leader Ponntos (Ire) (Power {GB}) in this straight test. Always moving freely well off the fence, California Spangle seized the baton with 400 metres to travel, while in a smooth rhythm under Brenton Avdulla. Not asked for much while just ahead on the front end, the bay nevertheless was holding his rivals safe, despite never opening up daylight. Star Of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}), a 'TDN Rising Star' in the capable hands of Frankie Dettori, was weaving her way toward the Hong Kong raider while in receipt of 13 pounds, but no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to bridge the gap and settled for second, three-quarters of a length behind. It was the same margin back to Diligent Harry (GB) (Due Diligence), who had also made up ground to be third.

The time of 1:07.50 lowered the course record of 1:07.61 set by Wildman Jack (Goldencents) in the 2020 G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint.

Winning trainer Tony Cruz said, “I knew it would happen sooner or later. I got this opportunity and I came with a lot of confidence that we would win this race today.

“The family–the 'California family'–is here today. Howard Liang, whose horses usually are named California, passed away recently so I would like to dedicate this win to him. We are over the moon with this, the owner's wish was always to win these big races. I wish he was here tonight but his whole family is here and we're going to celebrate together.”

Representing the owners, Chester Liang said, “The horse means a lot to my family and I and I'm really happy that we were able to win. Tony said if he won last time in Hong Kong, then we'd come. He did, we decided the horse was in good form, so we came. This was my dad's favourite horse, so he always means a lot. He is probably looking down on us.”

An €150,000 yearling out of the Goffs Orby Sale in 2019, the bay was later bought by Badgers Bloodstock for the late Howard Liang. He first began accruing group victories in 2022, and signed off that campaign with a neck victory in the G1 Hong Kong Mile over Hong Kong superstar Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) that December. The consistent gelding continued to burnish his resume with scores in the G2 Chairman's Trophy and G2 Sha Tin Trophy H. last term. However, he would go winless in his next four starts, until claiming the G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup by a length earlier this month.

“I think we'll go into sprint races back in Hong Kong, that's the end of April [the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize],” Cruz added. “We'll take on Lucky Sweynesse (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}). He's always been a sprinter-miler and I believe he's more a sprinter than a miler.”

Asked about Royal Ascot, he said, “It's a possibility. I've got to try to work it out.”

Pedigree Notes

A winner of the G1 Golden Jubilee S. just like his sire, Starspangledbanner has sired 38 stakes winners (25 group) worldwide and spends his time shuttling between Coolmore Stud in Ireland and Coolmore Australia. With his Al Quoz Sprint victory, California Spangle has now taken four top-level races, which puts him on par with his sire's other four-time Group/Grade 1 winner–Rathbarry Stud stallion State Of Rest (Ire). Other Group 1 winners sired by Starspangledbanner include G1 Prix Morny hero The Wow Signal (Ire) who was bred on the same Starspangledbanner–High Chaparral cross, G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine Millisle (Ire), GI American Oaks victress Rhea Moon (Ire), and G1 Prix Jean Romanet winner Aristia (Ire).

The late High Chaparral did his best work at stud from the Southern Hemisphere. Already the sire of 75 stakes winners (42 group) internationally as a broodmare sire, High Chaparral has 14 Grade/Group 1 winners worldwide. California Spangle is his best runner in that sphere.

The deceased Pearlitas Passion delivered nine foals, and five of them are winners anchored by Saturday's winner. The Lope De Vega (Ire) gelding Wychwood Warrior (Ire) was placed in both the Listed Platinum S. and Listed Patton S. in Ireland, as well as once at that level in the UAE. The 4-year-old filly Alchimia (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) has yet to race, as does Pearlitas Passion's final foal–a full-brother to the winner who just turned two. The last-named horse did not meet his reserve when unsold for €400,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale in 2023.

Under the placed second dam Paimpolaise (Ire) (Priolo) is the G2 Hungerford S. and G3 Solario S. hero Shakespearean (Ire) (Shamardal). However, Paimpolaise is a half-sister to three stakes horses, with the best of them the four-time stakes producer Pont-Aven (Ire) (Try My Best), a winner of the G3 Prix de Saint-Georges, who played bridesmaid in the 1990 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
AL QUOZ SPRINT SPONSORED BY AZIZI DEVELOPMENTS-G1, AED1,500,000, Meydan, 3-30, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:07.50, gd.
1–CALIFORNIA SPANGLE (IRE), 130, g, 6, by Starspangledbanner (Aus)
                1st Dam: Pearlitas Passion (Ire), by High Chaparral (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Paimpolaise (Ire), by Priolo
                3rd Dam: Basilea (Fr), by Frere Basile (Fr)
(€150,000 Ylg '19 GOFOCT). O-The Executors of the Estate of
the Late Howard Liang Yum Shing; B-Michael Enright (IRE);
T-Tony Cruz; J-Brenton Avdulla. $870,000. Lifetime Record:
MG1SW-HK, 25-13-6-2, $9,500,774. *1/2 to Wychwood
Warrior (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), MSP-Ire. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Star Of Mystery (GB), 117, f, 3, Kodiac (GB)–Mistrusting (Ire),
by Shamardal. TDN Rising Star. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE.
O/B-Godolphin (Ire); T-Charlie Appleby. $300,000.
3–Diligent Harry (GB), 130, g, 6, Due Diligence–Harryana To
(GB), by Compton Place (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE.
(£38,000 Ylg '19 GOFFPR). O-The Dilinquents; B-Whitsbury
Manor Stud (GB); T-Clive Cox. $150,000.
Margins: 3/4, 3/4, 3/4.
Also Ran: Bilhayl (Ire), Sight Success (Aus), Casa Creed, Emaraaty Ana (GB), King Gold (Fr), Danyah (Ire), Frost At Dawn, Jasper Krone, Ponntos (Ire). Click for the ERA chart & video.

CALIFORNIA SPANGLE flies the flag!!

The Hong Kong raider smashes the track record with a dominant performance in the Al Quoz sprint. #dwc2024

Will we see him at @Ascot in June?

@RacingTV

pic.twitter.com/dTWmKhUc6J

— World Horse Racing (@WHR) March 30, 2024

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Blue Point Sprint (G2)
1.010 m – 181.624 AED – for 3yo+
Meydan

Star Of Mystery (GB)
(3F Kodiac- Mistrusting , by Shamardal)
J : Mickael Barzalona
T :Charlie Appleby
O : @godolphin pic.twitter.com/bIVwToGtSN

— (@WorldRacing1) January 26, 2024

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“She's a neat and strong model and has always shown natural pace, but has been a little bit buzzy and not easy so the team has done a great job,” Charlie Appleby said of the winner, who was runner-up to the G3 Albany S. disappointment Carla's Way (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) on debut over nearly 6 1/2-furlongs at Doncaster 12 days before her Haydock romp. “It's great winning by those distances, it's just that sometimes they don't learn a great deal but she can't do any more than she's been doing so we're delighted. My daughter named her, so I've got her to thank. We'll work back from a [G1] Cheveley Park, but where she goes in between I don't know.”

Star Of Mystery

She's a half-sister to two Group 1 winners and is surely heading for lofty heights herself after a runaway win in the Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies' Stakes at @NewmarketRace. @godolphin pic.twitter.com/DZl4qObyz0

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 1, 2023

Star Of Mystery is the fifth foal out of Mistrusting, who captured the Listed Boadicea Fillies S. before proving such an important broodmare for the Godolphin via her aforementioned high-class Dark Angel duo who have recorded a total of six black-type and graded-stakes wins between them including their three at the highest level. The second dam is Misheer (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who was successful in the G2 Cherry Hinton S. over this course and distance before finishing runner-up in the G1 Cheveley Park S. on the Rowley Mile over the way. Like Althiqa's first foal born this year, Mistrusting's yearling colt is by the operation's powerhouse Dubawi (Ire).

Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
MAUREEN BRITTAIN MEMORIAL EMPRESS FILLIES' S.-Listed, £40,000, Newmarket, 7-1, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:10.67, gd.
1–STAR OF MYSTERY (GB), 128, f, 2, by Kodiac (GB)
1st Dam: Mistrusting (Ire) (SW-Eng, $120,206), by Shamardal
2nd Dam: Misheer (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB)
3rd Dam: All For Laura (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £22,684. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $37,786. *1/2 to Althiqa (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), MGISW-US, GSW-UAE, SW & GSP-Fr, MGSP-Eng, $761,213; and Mysterious Night (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), GISW-Can, GSW-Fr & MGSP-Eng, $308,358.
2–Cry Fiction (Ire), 128, f, 2, El Kabeir–Fictitious (GB), by Mayson (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. (€7,000 Ylg '22 GOFSPT). O-Ruffles Racing Club; B-Tom & Hazel Russell (IRE); T-Jonathan Portman. £8,600.
3–Unbreak My Heart (GB), 128, f, 2, Showcasing (GB)–Place In My Heart (GB), by Compton Place (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-C J Harper; B-Whitsbury Manor Stud (GB); T-Clive Cox. £4,304.
Margins: 4, 4, 4. Odds: 0.80, 40.00, 12.00.
Also Ran: Indispensable (GB), Point Of Attack (GB), Ziggy's Phoenix (Ire), Rare Jewel (GB), What A Question (GB), Neverstopdreaming (Ire). Scratched: Denruth Diamond (Fr).

The post Kodiac’s TDN Rising Star Star Of Mystery Dominates The Empress appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Joseph O'Brien, who was responsible for two of the last four winners, saddles TDN Rising Star Above The Curve (American Pharoah), who took all of the attention away from Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) when winning last month's G2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud. Last year's G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner is one of two Coolmore hopes alongside Ballydoyle's Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) who is backed up 13 days after after her second in the G1 Prix de Diane at Chantilly.

Al Riffa In International Return…
It has taken a while, but Jassim Bin Ali Al Attiyah's G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. winner Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is back in action in the G3 Paddy Power International S. on the Pretty Polly undercard. Not sighted since winning the track's juvenile feature in September, he is giving Joseph O'Brien all the right vibes as he faces another long-absent colt in Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Alfred Munnings (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), last seen finishing a disappointing sixth in the Listed Chesham S. at last year's Royal Ascot.
While Alfred Munnings has to dust off the cobwebs, stablemate and fellow TDN Rising Star Matrika (Ire) (No Nay Never) is back just eight days after her runner-up finish in the Royal meeting's G3 Albany S. as she takes in the G2 Airlie Stud S. Three of Aidan O'Brien's last four winners of this had also been in action in Berkshire, but if this proves too quick a turnaround it may be that it benefits another with Coolmore involvement in the Joseph O'Brien-trained Grand Job (Justify) who was second in Matrika's course-and-distance maiden last month.

Return Acts At Newmarket…
The July Course's season got underway on Thursday and the action there on Saturday is not to be missed, with Charlie Appleby taking the wraps off last year's G3 Gordon S. winner and promoted G1 St Leger runner-up New London (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Listed Fred Archer S. “New London has had wind surgery since his last run and we have been very pleased with him at home,” his trainer said. “He has been for two racecourse gallops and this looks a good starting point for a campaign that should progress through the summer and into the autumn.”

The Fred Archer also sees the comeback of Shadwell's talented Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who looks to become the latest in a sequence to defy a lengthy lay-off having been sidelined since his win in Ascot's Listed Buckhounds S. last May. Interestingly, William Haggas also brings back another of Sheikha Hissa's stars missing in action of late in Aldaary (GB) (Territories {Ire}) in the card's G3 Criterion S.

“We need soft ground for Aldaary, I declared him when it was raining,” Haggas said of last year's impressive Listed Spring Trophy winner who has been off for the same 420-day stretch as Al Aasy. “The ground is on the slow side at Newmarket, but whether that remains the case we'll see. We can make a decision as late as we need to, but as long as it's not fast I'd say he'll probably run because he needs to get going. Al Aasy is the same, he likes a bit of cut in the ground, but he needs to start. They've both been training well, so I'm hopeful they'll run well.”

In the fixture's opening Listed Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies' S., Charlie Appleby tests the waters with TDN Rising Star Star Of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) who dazzled at Haydock 16 days ago. She faces Ballylinch Stud's What A Question (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), a key member of the Charlie Johnston juvenile academy who was impressive at Goodwood on her debut a day after her Godolphin rival.

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Keen initially behind the leading pair, the homebred tanked her way to the front at the halfway mark of the six-furlong trip and powered clear with the rail to guide her. The James Ferguson-trained debutante Royal Elysian (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) won the race for second, 1 1/2 lengths in front of the Karl Burke-trained Out Of Line (GB) (Showcasing {GB}). “She ran a nice race on debut and the winner of that race set a decent standard, I thought,” the winning rider said. “It was testament to this filly that she got so close to her and she was green as well. She looks at everything, so I was keen to get her back and my tack shifted back so it wasn't a great first couple of furlongs but she picked up well and there is plenty of improvement to come.”

Star Of Mystery routs them at @haydockraces!

The daughter of Kodiac makes no mistake under @the_doyler after a promising Doncaster debut 12 days ago. Normal service resumed for Charlie Appleby as that's his 5th winner from his past 9 runners. pic.twitter.com/3EUDII0V7D

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 15, 2023

Pedigree Notes
Star Of Mystery is TDN Rising Star number six for Kodiac, with this year's 2000 Guineas runner-up Hi Royal (Ire) and past G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine Fairyland (Ire) the pick. She is the fifth foal out of Mistrusting, who took the Listed Boadicea Fillies S. before providing the operation with the two Dark Angel luminaries who have racked up six black-type and graded-stakes wins between them including their three at the highest level. The second dam is the G2 Cherry Hinton S. winner Misheer (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who was also second in the G1 Cheveley Park S. Like Althiqa's first foal born this year, Mistrusting's yearling colt is by the operation's powerhouse Dubawi (Ire).

2nd-Haydock, £9,999, Novice, 6-15, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:13.15, g/f.
STAR OF MYSTERY (GB), f, 2, by Kodiac (GB)
     1st Dam: Mistrusting (Ire) (SW-Eng, $120,206), by Shamardal
     2nd Dam: Misheer (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB)
     3rd Dam: All For Laura (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $8,983. O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charlie Appleby. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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