Two Group I races were run in Europe overnight and produced new Group I winners for a couple of sires that have been shuttled to Victoria in recent years, while Starspangledbanner added another G1 string to his bow as sire of the dam of one of them.
The Group I Phoenix Stakes (6f) at The Curragh had a short priced favourite in Sun Goddess and the Aidan O’Brien trained 2YO daughter of Sioux Nation got the cash when scoring by a length and a quarter over Blue Point colt Folsom Blues.
Second in the Group III Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and a last start G2 winner in Ireland, Sun Goddess has had three wins from five starts this year and Ryan Moore has been aboard for all of her wins.
“Sun Goddess is very special, we think. Before Ascot she had a foot bruise for a few days, and that can happen with a horse, but when she hit the front Ryan thought she got a little bit tired. We felt she would improve and then won on pure ability last time. She had a good run into this, her work was beautiful,” said Aidan O’Brien.
“She's such a good looking, slick filly. We were going to put the pace on today, the ground was beautiful and we were going to find out if she's a six-furlong filly or if she'll get seven. She's very high quality and she'll get seven. She could go to a Moyglare, she could go to Cheveley Park, she could go to America then. I think she could get a mile next year.”
Sun Goddess runs for the Coolmore partners and was purchased at the Goffs Premier UK Yearling Sale for £120,000 by Avenue Bloodstock for MV Magnier.
Bred by Owenstown Bloodstock, she is the first winner from Etoile Bleu, an unraced half-sister by Starspangledbanner to South African Group II winner Gibraltar Blue and Group III winner Scream Blue Murder, the grand-dam of this year’s Group I winning 3YO Thesecretadversary.
Sun Goddess is the second Group I winner among 24 SW’s for Scat Daddy stallion Sioux Nation, who shuttled to Swettenham Stud in Victoria in 2019 for one season and interestingly his first Group I winner was produced from that one Aussie crop with Socks Nation winning the Group I BRC Queensland Oaks.
Sioux Nation stands at a fee of €37,500 at Coolmore Ireland and has his biggest ever foal crop out running this year as 2YOs and it has already produced 23 winners with Sun Goddess one of two SW’s.
Sun Goddess is a history maker as the first Group I winner as a broodmare sire for Starspangledbanner.
The Group I Prix Maurice de Gheest (1300m) is a sprint for three year-olds at Deauville and Blue Point got the winner here with the Aga Khan Studs homebred colt Samangan breaking through for his first win this year.
Trained by Francis Henri Graffard and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, Samangan improved from a last start fourth in the Group I Prix Jean Prat to win by a short neck over the Wathnan Racing owned Kingman colt Division.
A G2 winner last year as a juvenile, Samangan has the overall record of four wins from nine starts.
“He is a colt we have always held in high regard, but things didn't go as planned at the beginning of the season,” said Francis Henri-Graffard.
“He needed to gain experience and so his races have toughened him up and this victory is the result of that. Today, he was able to produce his effort in a very composed way, without rushing and I am very pleased for the team at home.
“His next target could be the Prix de la Foret, provided the ground is not too testing for him.”
Samangan is a half-brother to stakes-winner Simeen and is the best of three winners from Samadrisa, a winning half-sister by Oasis Dream to Champion 3YO French Filly Sarafina.
He is the fifth Group I winner among 31 SW’s for Blue Point, who stands for Darley in Ireland at a fee of €100,000.
Blue Point shuttled to Darley Victoria for five seasons, but has not achieved the level of success in Australia that he has in Europe although that said he has still sired plenty of winners here and had 82 last season that won over $7million headed by the Group winning mare Gerringong.
