The G1 Irish Oaks was won by You Got To Me (GB), a relative of Aussie sprint star Buffering, while G2 Curragh Cup winner Tower Of London (Ire) might head to the Melbourne Cup. In America, Thorpedo Anna (USA) looks the best of the 3-year-old fillies with her third Group 1 win, while Dornoch won the G1 Haskell S. and was announced as retiring to Spendthrift Farm.
Ireland
You Got To Me dominates G1 Irish Oaks
Fourth in the Oaks and the G2 Ribblesdale S3, Valmont and Newsells Park Stud Bloodstock's You Got To Me (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) made the necessary improvement on Saturday to clinch the G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks at The Curragh. Reserved by Hector Crouch in mid-division throughout the early stages in contrast to the forceful ride she was given at Royal Ascot, the well-supported 15-2 shot moved to the front a furlong out with the 3-1 favourite Content (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in hot pursuit.
Where Content had met with trouble in the straight which delayed her assault, the Ralph Beckett trainee enjoyed a smooth passage and at the line that was possibly crucial as she registered a 0.75l success from that Ballydoyle representative. There was another 1.5l back to Purple Lily (Ire) (Calyx {GB}) in third. The quest for Galileo (Ire)'s 100th Group 1 winner continues, with his daughter ironically denied by a progeny of his son Nathaniel (Ire). You Got To Me now has three wins from six starts and this was her first Group 1 win.
“She was training well in the spring and did it the hard way at Lingfield, then it didn't really work out in the Oaks and she went a bit hard in the Ribblesdale, which can happen at Ascot. A tongue strap on today probably helped, as it just gave her something else to think about. Hector said he had to barge through everywhere to get a position and to keep his position. She's a very brave filly,” said trainer Ralph Beckett.
“The plan was to be forward and kick on from the top of the hill, but you always have to have a plan B. Hector is not a man that panics and he knew what was going to happen after five strides and rode a race to fit her.”
Nathaniel’s fourth European Classic winner following on from Desert Crown (GB), Enable (GB) and Channel (Ire), You Got To Me is out of the Listed Galtres S. winner Brushing (GB) (Medicean {GB}) whose dam Seasonal Blossom (Ire) (Fairy King {USA}) is a half-sister to the G2 Bay Meadows H. winner Wait Till Monday (Ire) (Maelstrom lake {Ire}) and the G3 CL Weld Park S. winner Token Gesture (Ire) (Alzao {USA}). She is in turn the dam of the G1 Canadian International hero Relaxed Gesture (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) and the G2 All American Derby winner Evolving Tactics (Ire) (Machiavellian {USA}). She is also related to the multiple Group 1 winner Buffering (Mossman).
Melbourne Cup on cards for Tower Of London after G2 Curragh Cup win
Even the most reverent of Ryan Moore's legions of fans would have put his task on Tower Of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) down as a hopeless one at the top of the straight in Saturday's G2 Curragh Cup, but one of the world's finest demonstrated yet again that he is master of the clock as he delivered the 13-8 second favourite virtually on top of the line. Held up in rear throughout the early stages as the fellow Ballydoyle runner Grosvenor Square (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) set off in isolation, the G3 Red Sea Turf H. and G2 Dubai Gold Cup still had a yawning gap to make up turning for home with the front-runner killing off all others.
It looked highly unlikely there, but the fractions had been judged to perfection as Ballydoyle's number one mastered his stablemate yards from the finish. At the line, there was an ultimately substantial 1.25l margin between them, a measurement of how much the runner-up was treading water in the closing stages with the 11-8 market-leader Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) 7l away in third.
“He's a great horse to have, a stayer with speed and he can go anywhere - Hong Kong, Japan or Australia, he could be a Melbourne Cup horse,” Aidan O'Brien said. “He could come back here for the (Irish) Leger. He's getting tougher and can go anywhere, he loves travelling. He lost his confidence a little bit at York and Ryan looked after him. Grosvenor Square ran a great race and he's a trip horse. He wanted to go the distance, is a Leger-type horse and a big cruiser and could be a Melbourne Cup horse, but in the St Leger ridden like that it would take a fair 3-year-old to follow him and take him on. He is a big horse with a big stride and we finally let him go.”
Tower Of London, who took his record to six wins from 12 starts, is a full brother to the G1 St Leger and G1 Irish Derby hero Capri (Ire), the G3 Stanerra S. winner and G1 Irish Oaks third Passion (Ire) and the G3 Loughbrown S. winner Cypress Creek (Ire), as well as to the dam of the G1 Fillies' Mile heroine Commissioning (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Their dam Dialafara (Fr) (Anabaa) is a daughter of the G2 Prix de Malleret and G3 Prix de la Nonette winner Diamilina (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}) from the family of Green Desert's G3 Prix la Rochette-winning sire Diamond Green (Fr) and the G2 Doncaster Cup scorer Desert Skyline (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}).
3-year-old Believing adds G2 Sapphire S.
Highclere Throughbred Racing's Believing (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), successful last year as two in the G3 Prix Texanita, finished just off the board in Royal Ascot's G1 King Charles III S. and G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubliee S. last month and regained the winning thread with a decisive victory in Saturday's G2 Barberstown Castle Sapphire S. at the Curragh.
Believing was alert from the gates and raced fifth, within range of the pace, through halfway in this straight dash. Shaken up with a quarter-mile remaining, the even-money favourite quickened to the fore passing the furlong pole and was ridden out in the latter stages to assert by 1.75l from Beautiful Diamond (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}). Makarova (GB) (Acclamation {GB}), from the in-form Ed Walker stable, ran on well to finish 0.5l adrift in third.
“She's such a hardy, tough filly and she did it well,” said trainer George Boughey's assistant Henry Morshead. “She ran with great credit in two Group 1s over the week, which is amazing, and came out of (Royal) Ascot great. She hasn't done a lot since and we've just freshened her up. She can be quite busy at a high level through the second half of the year and I'd imagine she'll have sales hopes later in the year. Highclere are great supporters of the yard and it's great to get a Group 2 win for them.”
Believing is the second of four foals and lone scorer out of Misfortunate (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), an unraced half-sister to G3 Brownstown S. and G3 Concorde S. victrix Miss Sally (Ire) (Danetime {GB}). Believing has won six of her 20 starts.
United States of America
Thorpedo Anna wins G1 American Oaks
Thorpedo Anna (USA) (Fast Anna {USA}) continued her assault on the sophomore fillies division with a spectacular 4.5l victory over Candied (USA) (Candy Ride {Arg}) in Saturday's G1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga. She has now won six of her seven starts and this was her third Group 1 win in succession.
But it was not all smooth sailing for the G1 Kentucky Oaks and G1 Acorn S. heroine. Off as the 1-4 favorite while facing four rivals here, she hopped at the start and subsequently hit the gate and immediately trailed the quartet. She rushed up beneath Brian Hernandez, Jr., however, and was quickly in a perfect stalking second behind G1 Ashland S. winner Leslie's Rose (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}) through an opening quarter in 24.28s. Always traveling like the winner, Thorpedo Anna inhaled the pacesetter approaching the quarter pole, kicked for home in complete command and ran up the score in the stretch over the aforementioned 2023 G1 Darley Alcibiades S. winner to make it a perfect four-for-four on the year.
“I hope we haven't seen the best of her yet,” winning trainer Ken McPeek said. “We've seen quite a bit of good of her. She really hasn't been challenged. Even today, he didn't hit her. He said he flagged her, but he didn't actually reach back and hit her. We don't know what will happen when he does that–she might find two or three more lengths.”
“If I run her in the Alabama, as a wagering (prospect) it's no fun for anybody,” McPeek said. “Nobody is going to run against her and what would she be–1-2 or less? I like challenges. I'd be sticking my neck out a little bit, but I think the sport could really enjoy seeing a filly take on the colts. Whether it's Genuine Risk or Winning Colors or Swiss (Skydiver)–I'll look at the numbers, look at them really hard and try to make an educated decision if I think we can run with them. I watched Dornoch today (winning the G1 Haskell) and he ran 1:50 and change - there's not much separation there, at least on time. It's a good problem.”
Thorpedo Anna was bred by Judy Hicks, who took on the mare as a charitable act and later stayed in for a piece of the filly. Purchased by McPeek for US$40,000 (AU$59,800) at the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale in 2022, Thorpedo Anna is the second foal of unraced mare Sataves (USA) (Uncle Mo) whose first foal Charlee O (USA) (Tourist {USA}) is also a winner. Thorpedo Anna's third dam Aldebaran Light (USA) won three races and produced G1 Middle Park S. winner Balmont (USA) (Stravinsky {USA}) and G1 Wood Memorial S. winner Eskendereya (USA) (Giant's Causeway {USA}).
Dornoch to Spendthrift announced after winning G1 Haskell S.
Six weeks removed from his biggest win in his career win in the G1 Belmont S., Dornoch (USA) (Godo Magic {USA}) did what many thought he surely wouldn't be able to repeat. But it seems nobody told him, nor the colt's connections for that matter.
During Wednesday's draw for the G1 Haskell S., trainer Danny Gargan made it pretty clear that he was not really enthused with his Classic-winning colt drawing post 1. The trainer probably had a flashback to this season's Kentucky Derby, where Dornoch drew the dreaded rail and ran accordingly in 10th. But the Haskell is not the Derby, and drawing the rail in the Haskell likely arguably proved to be a stroke of luck given 10 prior winners have come out of that position, making it the most prolific winning position in the gate.
Dornoch led all the way to win from Mindframe (USA) (Constitution {USA}) 1.25l adrift of the winner with Timberlake (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}) a distant third. Dornoch now has won five of his nine starts. The Haskell is a 'Win and You're In' event to the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar this fall.
“This race was five weeks before the Travers, which made the timing perfect,” said Gargan. “We want to win the Travers. He's always been special to all of us. He's probably the leading 3-year-old right now and if we can win the Travers that would be three Grade 1 wins for us. He's such a great horse and we're blessed just to be part of it.”
Owned by Larry Connolly and Keith Mason's West Paces Racing, Randy Hill's RA Stable, Vito Cucci's Belmar Racing and former MLB All-Star and 2008 World Series champion Jayson Werth, Dornoch will stand at Spendthrift Farm at the conclusion of his racing career.
“It's been in the works since right after the Belmont,” said Hill, a financial industry executive. “I also have Vekoma with Spendthrift and I think they are a class operation. They have run 212 mares to Vekoma two years in a row. He's off to a fast start for a freshman sire.”
Dornoch holds a strong connection to the Haskell. His sire, Good Magic (USA), won the nine-furlong mid-summer test, earning himself the distinction of becoming the fifth Haskell winner to sire a winner of Monmouth's marquee race for 3-year-olds. Additionally, Dornoch's full-brother Mage (USA), winner of the 2023 Kentucky Derby, finished in last year's renewal of the race.
The Classic-winning colts share the dam Puca (USA), who subsequently was purchased for US$2.9 million (AU$4.3 million) by John Stewart's Resolute Racing. Both Mage and Dornoch, a $325,000 (AU$486,000) Keeneland September Yearling purchase, were bred by Robert Clay's Grandview Equine, who originally purchased Puca, the half-sister to Group 1 winner Finnegan's Wake (USA), for $475,000 (AU$710,000) at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale. Puca has three stakes performers from the same number of starters, the other being Gunning (USA) (Gun Runner {USA}).
