The Group I Falmouth Stakes (1m) for fillies and mares was the highlight race overnight at Newmarket, while the Group II Duchess of Cambridge Stakes (6f) was won by the most expensive filly sold at this year’s Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale.
Taking on older mares following her win at Royal Ascot in the Group I Coronation Stakes, the Donnacha O’Brien trained Porta Fortuna was a short priced favourite and proved a class above running out a dominant four length winner under Ryan Moore.
“Porta Fortuna had been working well since Royal Ascot and everything went very smooth. We were very happy coming here although a short price favourite in a Group One race is always a bit of pressure,” said Donnacha O’Brien.
“The Coronation looked like a strong race as all the best three-year-olds were there and it's nice to now see her go and prove herself against older horses. We will take her home and see she is healthy and happy before deciding where she goes next.
“Coming here today, we thought we'd probably give her a break before coming back for the Matron Stakes on Irish Champions Weekend in September. We could then look at going to the Sun Chariot before going to America (for the Breeders' Cup).”
Bred by the O’Brien family and raced by Medallion Racing and partners, Porta Fortuna has the overall record of six wins and four placings from 10 starts and ahs been a model of consistency.
The Caravaggio filly is the first winner for Too Precious, a four time winning full sister to multiple Group winning stayer Numerian (IRE), who is trained in Australia by Annabel Neasham.
She is the best of 17 stakes-winners by Scat Daddy’s brilliant sprinting son Caravaggio, who shuttled to Coolmore Australia for one season and was relocated to Japan in 2022.
The Group II Duchess of Cambridge Stakes was won by an up and comer in Havana Grey filly Arabian Dusk from the Simon and Ed Crisford stable.
Placed at her first two starts, she improved again for this tougher assignment winning by three-quarters of a length over the blueblood Godolphin entry Mountain Breeze, a three-quarter sister by Lope de Vega to their champion two year-old colt Pinatubo.
“I'm not sure the Guineas will be the right trip for Arabian Dusk, but she certainly wasn't stopping at the end of the race today - in fact she was looking for a bit of company and I think she would have gone again if she had been challenged in the last 50 yards,” said Simon Crisford.
“I think we'll stick to this trip for the moment and maybe look at the Lowther Stakes at York and Cheveley Park and see what we are like over the winter.”
Arabian Dusk made 80,000 guineas as a yearling at the Tattersalls Sommerville Yearling Sale and then was hot property at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale where she was knocked down to Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for 525,000 guineas after producing a brilliant gallop.
Running for Shaikh Duaij Al Khalifa, Arabian Dusk is the first stakes-winner among five winners from Lady MacDuff, a winning Iffraaj mare from the family of Group I winner gilt Edge Girl.
She is the 20th stakes-winner for young stallion Havana Grey, who sired last year’s Group I winning two year-old colt Vandeek. A grands-n of Teofilo by Havana Gold, Havana Grey stands at Whitsbury Manor Stud at a fee of £55,000 pounds.
Success has come the hard way for Havana Grey, who started off at a fee of £8,000 before dropping to £6,500 and then to £6,000 in his third and fourth seasons.
With his oldest progeny now four year-olds, Havana Grey is running at 9% stakes-winner to runner!
