Cover image courtesy of Scoop Dyga
More Than Ready’s Rushing Fall determined in sixth Grade 1
Rushing Fall (USA) (More Than Ready {USA}) had to dig deep but in the end came out the winner of the G1 Diana S. at Saratoga to secure her sixth career Grade 1 victory across four different tracks.
Looking to give trainer Chad Brown his fifth straight win in the 1800 metre Grade 1, Rushing Fall was happy to settle under regular rider Javier Castellano as Mean Mary (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}) set the pace a few lengths in front of the field.
In the far turn, Rushing Fall closed the gap and the battle was on. Mean Mary entered the stretch in front but with every stride Rushing Fall was gaining.
The pair were head-to-head going into the final 100 metres before Rushing Fall stuck her nose in front of the determined Mean Mary and the race was over. Rushing Fall crossed the line a neck in front to give Brown a 1st-3rd with Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) 2.5l behind them in third.
"She knows how to win,” Brown said. “She's a remarkable horse. This is a horse that has won Grade 1s in four straight years. This is very rare company to do this. She's a horse of a lifetime for anybody - for an owner, for a trainer, for racing. We're very fortunate that [owner] Bob Edwards put her back in training. Her last race of the year last year was not good, she's worth a lot of money and they could easily have sold her and bred her. They gave her the time off and we sent her down to Stonestreet in Ocala like we do every winter where they do a fantastic job and then my team got a hold of her and took it from there. They executed like they always have, and the filly really came through. She's special.”
The victory kept Rushing Fall undefeated in 2020 with the 5-year-old winning 11 of her 14 career starts for more than US$2.5 million in earnings.
She is one of two stakes winners for Autumnal (USA) (Forestry {USA}) with her two years older half-brother Autumn Song (USA) (Colonel John {USA}) also stakes placed and an unraced half-sister the dam of two stakes horses.
Autumnal is out of Mr. Prospector’s (USA) Grade 3-placed daughter Marie J (USA), who is a half-sister to the dam of Grade 1 winner Albert The Great (USA) (Go For Gin {USA}).
Audarya gives sire a well-timed Group 1 win
Only a week after Wootton Basset (GB) moved to Coolmore Stud, his daughter Audarya (Fr) gave him a second career Group 1 winner in the G1 Darley Prix Jean Romanet.
Run over 2000 metres, the filly raced just behind the leading Bolleville (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Romanciere (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) as the field settled into a comfortable gallop. Always in touch with the leaders, Audarya was set to strike whenever asked by Lortiz Mendizabal and strike she did.
With a large hole opened in front of her turning into the stretch, Audarya was quick to challenge Romanciere as Bolleville started to fade. The long time leader put up a fight but it wasn’t enough to hold on to the lead and the race turned into a battle between Ambition (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Audarya in the final 300 metres.
Audarya kept her head in front throughout the run and had a 0.5l in hand at the line with Romanciere 4l behind the duo at the finish.
“The trainer asked me to get a good position, but more importantly to get her to relax. She wasn’t supposed to like the ground, but she was very comfortable and travelled very well on it. I’m not sure how she won like that and it’s a nice story that Francois Doumen bred her, as I know him very well,” Mendizabal told Thoroughbred Daily News.
The British-trained filly came into the race three weeks after winning a Newcastle handicap on the synthetic surface in her first win of the year. Stakes placed in her final start last year, Audarya is one of two winners from two to race out of her four-time winning dam.
That mare is out of the Group 3-placed Anabaa Republic (Fr) (Anabaa {USA}) G1 Hong Kong Cup winner Jim And Tonic (Fr) (Double Bed {Fr}) and G1 Beverly D S. winner Mauralakana (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}) also in the family.
Campanelle shows shades of Lady Aurelia in Prix Morny
Obviously not a fan of the ground, G2 Queen Mary S. winner Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) was willing to make the best of an uncomfortable situation when leading all the way in the 1200 metre G1 Darley Prix Morny on Sunday at Deauville.
Breaking sharply, as is normal for Wesley Ward trainees, Campanelle drifted from the rail to the centre of the course as she went straight to the lead with Livachope (Fr) (Goken {Fr}) joining her in front. That runner dropped back as they entered the final 600 metres and Acapulco Gold (Fr) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) took up the challenge.
The track dulled her usual speed a bit but Campanelle still showed a strong turn of foot to pull away by 2l at the line with fellow Kodiac (GB) runner Nando Parrado (GB) closing quickly for second over Rhythm Master (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}).
“She’s a big filly, but with a lot of speed as well and we saw that right from the start when we started training her down in Florida,” trainer Wesley Ward told Thoroughbred Daily News. “What really impressed me was that she went to [Royal] Ascot off a very short rest before she won the Queen Mary. My horses usually get a chance to acclimatise to the cooler weather over there and have good spacing between their races. Everything came close together for her and she still won. Now that she’s had the time, I’ve really started to see her blossom at home.”
The second winner in five years for the trio of Stonestreet Stables, Wesley Ward, and Frankie Dettori, Campanelle followed a similar path to their Lady Aurelia (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}).
That mare broke her maiden at Keeneland before winning the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot with Campanelle winning at Gulfstream Park before her Queen Mary victory.
Purchased by Ben McElroy for 190,000 gns (AU$379,050) during Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, she’s a third generation stakes winner after her stakes winning dam Janina (GB) (Namid {GB}) and Group 3 winning granddam Lady Dominatrix (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).
Campanelle is the fifth Group 1 winner for Kodiac, who has had seven stakes winners in 2020 including the Cambridge Stud co-owned Group 1 winner Hello Youmzain (Fr).
Maamora beats competitive field in Atalanta
Earning her first Group placing last out in Meydan, Maamora (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) bested a tough group of fillies in the G3 Betway Atalanta S. over 1600 metres.
Given a masterclass ride by William Buick, Maamora was sent straight to the lead with last year’s European Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Quadrilateral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Lavender’s Blue (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) close behind. Opening up a little over 1l on the field with her ears pricked, Maamora seemed to be enjoying herself as William Buick let her find her own way around the course.
As the field crossed the marker for the final 400 metres, Buick asked his mount for more and she responded. Classic winning Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) was Maamora’s main threat in the final 200 metres with Quadrilateral also making a run and Buick implored his mount for more to keep the lead.
Maamora responded to keep Billesdon Brook at bay by 0.5l at the line with Lavender’s Blue making a late run to put her neck in front of Quadrilateral for third.
Out of stakes-winning Zoowraa (GB) (Azamour {Ire}), Maamora is a half-sister to Harlech (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), the dam of last season’s Group 2 winner Hungry Heart (Frankel {GB}). Harlech had a Snitzel colt in 2018 and a Snitzel filly in 2019 before taking last season off.
Call The Wind adds to CV in France
Well-bred George Strawbridge homebred Call The Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}) continued his march back to top form on Sunday when he won his third start of the year in the G2 Darley Prix Kergorlay.
Run at 3000 metres on Deauville’s soft ground, the chestnut was happy to lead most of the field while running in second behind Australian Bloodstock’s clear leader Collide (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Collide opened up over 10l on the field as Call The Wind raced in a comfortable second 1l in front of Ashrun (Fr) (Authorized {Ire}) with most of the field galloping single file behind them.
Collide’s margin all but disappeared with 1400 metres left as Call The Wind crept closer to be only 3l behind him as they turned into the straight. It wasn’t until the final 300 metres, however, that Call The Wind made his move when coming up the inside of the tiring Collide with Ashrun close behind on Collide’s outside.
Call The Wind opened up a few lengths on the field under a hand ride by Olivier Peslier with Ashrun the only one narrowing it in the final 100 metres. The 6-year-old Call The Wind still had 1.5l on the 4-year-old colt at the wire with Windstoss (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger}) finishing 4l behind the winner.
A Group 1 winner in 2018, Call The Wind found tough luck all of last year when second or third in six of his seven starts. The luck has turned his way this year, however, with a victory in the Longines Turf H. kicking off a season that has seen him win three of his four starts.
Call The Wind is one of five stakes winners for the Grade 3-winning In Clover (GB) (Inchinor {GB}), whose produce record also includes Group 1 winners With You (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and We Are (GB) (Dansili {GB}).
A grandson of Bellarida (Fr) (Bellypha {Ire}), Call The Wind’s family also includes Hong Kong champion Dominant (Ire) (Cacique {Ire}), G2 Herbert Power winner Assign (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), and G3 Easter Cup winner Observational (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).
Etonian stays undefeated for Olympic Glory
Etonian (Ire) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) became the first 2-year-old Group winner for Olympic Glory (Ire) on Sunday with a win in the G3 Betway Solario S. at Sandown.
Making his second career start, Etonian broke out a bit when the barriers opened in the 1400 metre race and was soon settled second last by Pat Dobbs on the rail. Racing around the turn, Etonian stumbled a bit on the soft ground but quickly regrouped as they came into the straight.
Dobbs took his mount to the outside so Etonian was in perfect striking distance of the leading Forever Grateful (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who was put under pressure with 400 metres left to race.
Etonian still looked to have plenty left as he easily passed the leader in the final 100 metres and started to build his margin. At the line, Etonian had 1.25l on the second-placed King Vega (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) with Apollo One (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) in third and looked as though he would have had a bigger lead if Dobbs asked.
“He’s a horse that initially stood out, in the way he moved, but he got a bit bored in his work and was just doing his bit at home,” trainer Richard Hannon told Thoroughbred Daily News. “I’d given him a lot of entries and we had to run him sooner or later, so we came here for his debut, but I don’t know how we allowed him to start at such long odds. He won very well that day, he was very professional in everything he did today and always looked like he was going better than all of them. He wasn’t particularly fond of that ground, but I’d have been disappointed if he didn’t win. It’s lovely for [owner] Julie Wood to have a good one as it’s been a fair while in between good horses for her.”
One of five stakes winners and 12 stakes horses by Olympic Glory, Etonian is a grandson of Group 3-placed Wingspan (USA) (Silver Hawk {USA}). That mare is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Interactif (USA) (Broken Vow {USA}) and stakes winner Stretching (USA) (Red Ransom {USA}) from the family of top broodmare My Flag (USA) (Easy Goer {USA}).
