Roger Varian’s Elmalka went from last to first to produce a 28-1 upset under Silvestre De Sousa in the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.
The Kingman daughter ran a quick third in the Fred Darling Stakes at Newbury in just her second start and was again at her best in the closing stages, advancing to within a mile in the hands of former champion jockey Silvestre De Sousa.
It was French raider Ramatuelle who seemed to have sealed the deal for Christopher Head when Aurelien Lemaitre headed home in the hollow, but the 9/2 favorite was helpless as the closers closed in on her in the final 50 yards and Elmalka finished at odds of 28/1 making her the strongest of all players, with Donnacha O’Brien’s Porta Fortuna in second place.
Not only was it a first classic on his home turf for Varian, but it was also a first British classic for Brazilian De Sousa, who celebrated his comeback season in British racing in style.
Stay Alert comes home and takes the Dahlia Prize
Stay Alert stayed strong and delivered a decisive blow in the William Hill Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket.
With the six-strong crew split into two groups, David Egan was content to wait aboard Hughie Morrison’s five-year-olds as Running Lion’s Heartache Tonight led on their side of the track.
Running Lion – seeking a win on this card for the second consecutive year – moved up alongside Heartache Tonight and stormed into the lead with half a mile to go, and jockey Oisin Murphy appeared determined to break her rivals’ spirits when they moved into the last quarter mile.
However, the 6/4 favorite ran out of fuel when he hit the rising ground and Stay Alert was perfectly positioned to take advantage, edging past Running Lion to a three-and-a-half length odds-on win of 5/galloped. 1.
Morrison said: “We looked after her as a young horse and tried not to let her run on fast ground as she has quite a heavy head, but she has always had a strong motor.”
“The family has always stayed, so we figured she would get a mile and a half, but I would probably say a mile and a half is her perfect trip now.”
“She was due to retire but Ben and Sir Martin (Arbib, owner) decided at the last minute that they would give it another go. I actually said they should retire her because she is such a beautiful broodmare. I’m very happy.” I’m sorry they’re not here, but I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.
“David said he would always pick up the other filly (Running Lion), he just didn’t want to try it in the hollow. I will win.
“I think the most obvious race is Pretty Polly (Curragh) where we were a very unlucky second last year, but she definitely wants good ground.
“We’ll probably aim pretty high now, we’ll probably think about using them in the Eclipse and races like that because if it’s soft in Ireland you’ll probably want to go for the Eclipse.”
“On her day she is a very good horse and you have to watch everything. I strongly believe that five-year-olds have an advantage over four-year-olds because they need to improve.”
Friendly Soul remains undefeated in Pretty Polly
Kieran Shoemark helped cement his position in the Gosdens when he guided Friendly Soul to a stylish victory in the William Hill Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket.
John and Thady Gosden’s daughter of Kingman is a half-sister to a host of top-ranking winners and made a good impression on her debut at Kempton in December.
She confirmed the promise of the Sunbury Stakes in the Rowley Mile on Sunday, where she was both tough and professional as Shoemark sent her forward from the start.
Having completed the majority of the race, Friendly Soul (10/1) had enough reserves to fend off the persistent challenge of 4-6 favorite Kaldana, with the duo clearly pulling away from the rest of the field in the closing stages.
There was a quarter and a half between Friendly Soul and the heavily supported Kaldana at the line, with a further 12 going down to the third Kitteridge, a performance that raises hopes of an exciting future.
Friendly Soul should be included in the Betfred Oaks at Epsom but assistant trainer John Gosden is eyeing a move to the French counterpart at Chantilly instead.
Friendly Soul (right) turns on
“I think it was a good race. I was impressed with the second race when she won here at the Craven meeting, so I think it was solid (form),” he said.
“I think she (Friendly Soul) is a nice filly and I think she is a 1.5 mile filly. She could be a filly for a visit to Chantilly (Prix de Diane).
“We had a slow spring, it was very wet and cold, so I was in no hurry with the horses. We hope that May is really the time when they start to come to their senses.”
Gosden also paid tribute to Shoemark, who is now effectively Clarehaven’s first jockey following Frankie Dettori’s decision to move to America.
“Kieran waited quietly and we took him out a few times last year. As a school child he rode for me, he always came to ride during the holidays and was always very natural.”