Dubawi’s Space Blues Powers To Lennox Success

Retaining all his old pizzazz, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) backed up victories in last month’s Listed Spring Trophy and G3 Prix de la Porte Maillot with an impressive win in Tuesday’s G2 Qatar Lennox S. over seven furlongs at Goodwood. Adopting his usual patient role off the tempo in ninth through halfway, the 2-1 favourite made eyecatching headway out wide in the straight and was not for catching once quickening smartly for control approaching the final eighth to easily outpoint Duke of Hazzard (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) by two lengths. Escobar (Ire) (Famous Name {GB}) ran on to finish a half-length further back in third.

“He ran very well when he was third over 6 1/2 furlongs in the Maurice de Gheest last year, he’s a horse who’s still improving and he’s very professional and easy to deal with,” said in-form rider William Buick of last year’s G1 Prix Jean Prat and G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest placegetter. “It’s beautiful ground out there and they’re making a print, which suits him, and I thought that was a really good performance today. Six furlongs at Meydan in the Spring didn’t work out for him, but that was not the horse’s fault, and seven is his optimum trip. Charlie [Appleby] will keep all options open for him.”

Appleby, who had teamed up with Buick to garner Sunday’s G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis in Munich, added, “He got a nice, clean run round and there was plenty of pace on. William [Buick] was keen to make sure he kept it simple with him and that’s what he did. I was always confident he was going to pick up, it was a good performance and I’m delighted.” Looking ahead to another tilt at the Deauville festival, the trainer continued, “On the back of that, it’ll be nice to see how fresh we can get him, as quick as possible, as I feel the Maurice de Gheest is a nice race for him. He ran well in it last year and he’s a stronger horse this year. He’s a great traveller in his races and he has got that gear change. It’d be nice to give him another crack at a Group 1, but it does come soon enough. He’s a seven-furlong specialist, it’s proven on paper statistically throughout his career, and there’s obviously the [G1 Prix de la] Foret [at ParisLongchamp on Arc weekend] to consider too.”

Space Blues, one of four winners produced by G2 Challenge S. victress Miss Lucifer (Fr) (Noverre), is a half-brother to MGSW G2 Al Maktoum Challenge and G3 UAE Oaks winner Shuruq (Elusive Quality), herself the dam of stakes-winning GII Fair Grounds Oaks and GIII Wonder Again S. placegetter Antoinette (Hard Spun). The homebred chestnut is also kin to the unraced 2-year-old filly Beautiful Future (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) and a 2020 Dark Angel (Ire) filly. Miss Lucifer is out of a winning half to G2 King Edward VII S.-winning sire Amfortas (Ire) (Caerleon) and fellow sires Chevalier (Ire) (Danehill) and Chief Lone Eagle (Giant’s Causeway). She is also kin to G3 Prix de Royaumont victress Legend Maker (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), herself the dam of G1 1000 Guineas heroine Virginia Waters (Kingmambo), and to the dam of G1 Matron S. victress Chachamaidee (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}).

Tuesday, Goodwood, Britain
QATAR LENNOX S.-G2, £100,000, Goodwood, 7-28, 3yo/up, 7fT, 1:27.48, gd.
1–SPACE BLUES (IRE), 129, c, 4, by Dubawi (Ire)
     1st Dam: Miss Lucifer (Fr) (GSW-Eng, $193,403), by Noverre
     2nd Dam: Devil’s Imp (Ire), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
     3rd Dam: High Spirited (Ire), by Shirley Heights (GB)
O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £56,710. Lifetime Record: GSW & MG1SP-Fr, 12-6-3-1, $357,820. *1/2 to Shuruq (Elusive Quality), Hwt. Older Mare-UAE at 7-9 1/2f, MGSW-UAE, GSW-Tur, GSP-Eng, $658,709. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Duke of Hazzard (Fr), 129, c, 4, Lope de Vega (Ire)–With Your Spirit (Fr), by Invincible Spirit (Ire). (€130,000 Ylg ’17 ARAUG). O-Fitri Hay; B-Runnymede Farm Inc. & CW. Clay (FR); T-Paul Cole. £21,500.
3–Escobar (Ire), 129, g, 6, Famous Name (GB)–Saying Grace (Ire), by Brief Truce. (€105,000 Wlg ’14 GOFNOV; €280,000 Ylg ’15 GOFORB; 100,000gns HRA ’17 TATAHI). O-Withernsea Thoroughbred Limited; B-Peter Evans (IRE); T-David O’Meara. £10,760.
Margins: 2, HF, HF. Odds: 2.00, 5.00, 40.00.
Also Ran: Safe Voyage (Ire), Sir Dancealot (Ire), D’Bai (Ire), Marie’s Diamond (Ire), Graignes (Fr), Glorious Journey (GB), Pierre Lapin (Ire), History Writer (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Magical Display in the Offing

Avoiding her arch-foe Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) at Ascot, Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is kept to home soil to extend her awe-inspiring record in domestic races in Sunday’s G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh. With the race open to 3-year-olds in this unusual year but drawing only one which is her stable’s Armory (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Coolmore’s mare supreme looks to have a straightforward task in accomplishing a ninth success from 12 starts in Ireland. Her latest, in the course-and-distance G1 Pretty Polly S. June 28, was arguably her finest as she was giving 12 pounds weight-for-age and a 4 1/2-length beating to the subsequent G1 Irish Oaks runner-up Cayenne Pepper (Ire) (Australia {GB}). Last year’s G1 English and Irish Champion S. heroine has five victories at the top level to boast of, including in this last year and her odds reflect the prospect of her making it six here.

“She is very well and we’ve been very happy with her since her last run,” Aidan O’Brien said of the 5-year-old, who will have to wait a bit longer for a rematch with the Juddmonte mare. “Magical and Japan were being trained for the King George and you’re never sure what is going to happen, but the two of them seem to have come to this weekend very well. Magical was happy to stay at home and run on a track that she knows without having to travel–it looks like the race is going to suit her lovely. She’s only had the one run this year, whereas Japan has had the two runs and the King George was a race we had our eye on with him for a long time. The Tattersalls Gold Cup is a great race to have at the Curragh, and it’s a lovely race for Magical ahead of the autumn.”

Joseph O’Brien saddles Lloyd Williams’ admirable Buckhurst (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who beat Magical’s stablemate Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in the G3 Alleged S. over this track and trip June 27 and his level of consistency could easily see him pull off a group 1 placing. if there is a suprise package in the line-up, it could be Zhang Yuesheng’s June 12 G2 Mooresbridge S. winner Leo De Fury (Ire) (Australia {GB}) who looked a different proposition when hammering Ballydoyle’s smart Fleeting (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) by three lengths in that 10 1/2-furlong prep here.

Munich’s G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis shares the same status as the Tattersalls Gold Cup, but it will take considerably less to win which is good news for Godolphin’s Barney Roy (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}) and Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez’s Patrick Sarsfield (Fr) (Australia {GB}). The former, who took the G1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan Mar. 7, was third in the G1 Prince of Wales’s S. over this mile-and-a-quarter trip at Royal Ascot June 17, while the quick-progressing Patrick Sarsfield comes into this on the back of an authoritative success in the nine-furlong G3 Meld S. at Leopardstown July 11. “Barney Roy put up a decent performance on ground that was slower than ideal in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes,” Charlie Appleby said. “He came out of the race well and this has always been the target since. He goes into this race in good shape and a repeat of his runs so far this year should make him the one to beat.”

In Ascot’s G3 Betfred Valiant Fillies’ S. over a mile, Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) looks for compensation for her neck defeat in Newmarket’s G1 Falmouth S. July 10 in which she split Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Terebellum (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). She encounters Lael Stable’s unbeaten and still unexposed Miss O Connor (Ire) (Roderic O’Connor {Ire}), who was last seen taking the G3 Prix Perth at Saint-Cloud in October. “It’s a lovely race for her and she’s in great nick,” trainer Richard Hannon said of Billesdon Brook. “She has run good races at Ascot and elsewhere. It’s all to do with if she’s in form on the day–if she is then she’s very hard to beat and if not she runs moderately, but we never know until a furlong and a half out. She’s a star–no matter how she runs, she’s loved at home. To have a Classic winner still in training at five is great for racing and we’re all enjoying the ride.”

Also on the card is the G3 Princess Margaret Betfred S., in which the increasingly-elusive TDN Rising Star More Beautiful (War Front) needs better ground than she encountered when ninth in the G2 Queen Mary S. at the Royal meeting June 20. Third in that contest at 100-1, Caroline Dale (GB) (Lethal Force {Ire}) has since won at Windsor July 6 and heads a two-pronged attack from the David Loughnane stable alongside the July 10 G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. third Santosha (Ire) (Coulsty {Ire}). The form of that Newmarket contest was boosted by the subsequent Listed Star S. success of the runner-up Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) and the trainer is relishing seeing them both in action. “We only have 10 or 11 two-year-old fillies in the yard, so to have two of their calibre is fantastic,” he said.

“I would prefer not to run them against each other, but you have to train them as individuals and it’s the right race for them both,” Loughnane added. “I think they both have fantastic chances and I’m very bullish about both. They are both different fillies–Caroline wears her heart on her sleeve, bombs out of the gate and is dynamite in front and if you are good enough to pass her they’ll have to fight for it. Santosha likes to take her time and saves a bit up her sleeve–she’s very tough. She was green still at Newmarket and when she came with her run Dandalla just drifted across her a bit. She’s come on a lot, while Caroline just has so much ability. I think both are borderline on their way to being group one horses.”

At York, the Listed British Stallion Studs EBF Lyric Fillies’ S. sees Khalid Abdullah’s Franconia (GB) (Frankel {GB}) take on the older horses following her impressive success in Newbury’s Listed Abingdon Fillies’ S. The form of that 10-furlong Oaks prep has been boosted by the listed win of the runner-up Cabaletta (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) and the highly-regarded half-sister to the G1 Nassau S. heroine Winsili (GB) (Dansili {GB}) will be a warm order to cap another stellar weekend for Juddmonte. John Gosden said of the homebred, who was forced to miss the G3 Musidora S. here earlier this month, “She scoped with mucus before the Musidora. She has always been a little bit inclined that way and I just wasn’t happy with her. She is like her sister Winsili and is very full of herself at home. She is quite a character, but she seems in good form. It was a good effort to break her maiden in a listed race, but she now has to carry a penalty for that victory in this race. The race at Newbury is working out quite well.”

Franconia encounters Mohamed Khalid Abdulrahim’s highly-regarded Gold Wand (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}), who was out of her depth and probably running over too far when a distant seventh in the July 4 G1 Epsom Oaks. Jockey Andrea Atzeni is confident she can bounce back. “I think a mile and a quarter on a flat track like York will suit her perfectly, because she won over that trip at Newbury,” he explained. “She is a filly that we like quite like. We took a chance in the Oaks, because we thought she would be competitive in that race. But it just never happened for her, as she probably didn’t have enough experience. She didn’t have a hard race in the Oaks and she came out of it fine. We are very pleased with her.”

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Shamardal’s Albasheer a New TDN Rising Star

Owen Burrows had enjoyed the limelight last Saturday when Tabdeed (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) took the G3 Hackwood S. and he had something else to ponder a week on after Albasheer (Ire) (Shamardal) earned TDN Rising Star status at Doncaster. Starting the seven-furlong British Stallion Studs EBF Novice S. as a 17-2 shot, the chestnut was under restraint from David Probert from the break and suffered some barges as he tracked the group racing towards the rear. Shaken up to chase the fellow Shadwell representative Alablaq (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) approaching two out, the imposing homebred descendant of Height of Fashion (Fr) brushed that rival aside with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining and surged clear under hand riding to record a highly impressive 6 1/2-length debut success.

2nd-Doncaster, £6,400, Novice, 7-25, 2yo, 7f 6yT, 1:25.63, g/f.
ALBASHEER (IRE), c, 2, by Shamardal
     1st Dam: Mutebah (Ire) (SP-Fr), by Marju (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Mohafazaat (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells
     3rd Dam: Wijdan, by Mr. Prospector
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $5,297. O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Shadwell Estate Company Limited (IRE); T-Owen Burrows. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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TDN Rising Star Shirl’s Speight Heads Marine

Despite facing more seasoned rivals in Saturday’s GIII Marine S. at Woodbine, Shirl’s Speight (Speightstown) looms large in the traditional primer for the Queen’s Plate, scheduled for Sept. 12. Sent off at 3-1 for a trainer not typically known for his first-time starters, the Roger Attfield trainee took control in the early going of the seven-furlong turf test July 4 and rolled home an emphatic eight-length winner under Rafael Hernandez, becoming a TDN Rising Star in the process. The Charles Fipke hombred is out of Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire})–a daughter of GISW Lady Shirl (That’s Nice)–who annexed the 2011 GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Turf.

On the other end of the spectrum, John Oxley’s Lucky Curlin (Curlin) will be making his 10th start in the 1 1/16-mile contest. The Mark Casse-conditioned colt needed six tries to get off the duck at two, and finally earned the distinction via DQ in a sloppy six-panel affair at the Fair Grounds in December. Off the board in a pair of stakes at the New Orleans oval over the winter, the homebred came from off the pace to score last time in Etobicoke over the Marine’s course and distance June 14.

“He’s a horse that’s disappointed me, to be honest,” said Casse. “We were always thinking, ‘If he ever gets his act together..’ He was a horse early on that we thought was as good as [Grade III winner] Enforceable [Tapit]. And of course, Enforceable is going to the [GI] Kentucky Derby.”

“His last race, from a Beyer standpoint, was very good. I wasn’t surprised, but it was pleasant. He’s been extremely frustrating for us because we’ve had high hopes for him. There are horses whose abilities are limited. He hasn’t been that way. So, we’ll see how he handles two turns. I’m still not positive that he isn’t a come-from-behind sprinter. But we’re going to give it a try.”

Among Queen’s Plate eligible runners is Dotted Line (Signature Red), listed at 18-1 in the Queen’s Plate winterbook. The winner of three starts in 2019, including a pair of stakes over the Tapeta, the Sid Attard trained gelding finished fifth in Woodine’s seven-panel Queeneston S. against fellow Ontario breds July 4.

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