Exciting racing at York overnight with the Group I Yorskhire Oaks (1m4f) won by race favourite Kalpana in a thriller, while two year-old filly Sun Goddess has been made favourite for next year’s 1000 Guineas off her dazzling victory in the rich Goffs incentive race for 2YOs.
The Aidan O’Brien trained Sun Goddess was a last start winner of the Group I Phoenix Stakes beating the colts in Ireland and connections elected to go for the cash in the Harry’s Half Million by Goffs (6f) rather than running the Group II Lowther Stakes won by Libertango.
The Sioux Nation filly settled near the rear in the field of 20 for Ryan Moore and when working into contention suffered severe interference that would have finished off most horses, but not Sun Goddess.
She regrouped, changed legs and demolished her rivals to win by six lengths in faster time that was run by Libertango.
The full race video well worth a watch.
With four wins and two seconds from six starts, 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.
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.
Aidan O’Brien revealed in his interview the filly had been bought as a yearling with this race in mind.
The highlight race of the day was the Group I Yorkshire Oaks with the Andrew Balding trained Kalpana dropping back to fillies and mares company after her last start win in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Ridden by Colin Keane, she led the charge to run down tearaway pacemaker Sugar Island and after striking the front had just enough left to hold off a late challenge from progressive 3YO filly Sparan Nua to win by a head.
It was the second G1 win in two days for the Andrew Balding stable, who won yesterday’s Group I Juddmonte International with another Juddmonte homebred in Item.
With nine wins and eight placings from 18 starts, Kalpana has only ever finished unplaced once in her life which was in the Arc last year.
Kalpana is the best of 11 stakes-winners for Study of Man, a Group I Prix du Jockey Club winner by Japanese super sire Deep Impact. He stands at Lanwades Stud at a fee of £35,000.
She is also the best of six winners from stakes-winning Dansili mare Zero Gravity, a full sister to Group I winner Zambezi Sun with the family packed with Black Type winners all down the page.
