By Tom Frary
Having learnt the lesson of paying too little respect to last year's winner Churchill (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the bookies were running scared after his stablemate September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) captured the Listed Chesham S. with an air of dominance. Immediately quoted as low as 3-1 for the 2018 1000 Guineas, the daughter of Peeping Fawn (Danehill) who earned TDN Rising Star status with her emphatic 5 1/2-length success on her sole start at Leopardstown June 8 could be anything on pedigree and limited racecourse evidence. Slowly away, the 11-8 favourite was settled in mid-division early by Ryan Moore as Nyaleti (Ire) (Arch) set off in a clear lead. Brought through to lead passing the furlong pole, the bay stayed on strongly to beat that long-time leader and fellow filly by 2 1/4 lengths, with another TDN Rising Star in Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) just held by the runner-up by a short head. “She's a little doll, but she travelled like the winner the whole way,” jockey Ryan Moore said. “The Johnston horse went a good gallop and kept going, but she got into a real good rhythm and I was always confident I'd win. I never really had to get into her. You couldn't ask for a better pedigree and her mother got better with racing and she's definitely got some of her talent. As she goes further, she'll get better.”
Saturday, Royal Ascot, Britain
CHESHAM S.-Listed, £80,000, ASC, 6-24, 2yo, 7fT, 1:26.70, g/f.
1–#SEPTEMBER (IRE), 124, f, 2, by Deep Impact (Jpn)
1st Dam: Peeping Fawn (Hwt. 3yo Filly-Ire at 11-13f, Hwt. 3yo Filly-Ire at 9.5-10 1/2f, MG1SW-Eng & Ire, $1,387,274), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Maryinsky (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Blush With Pride, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Orpendale & Chelston (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £45,368. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $69,834. *1/2 to Sir John Hawkins (Henrythenavigator), GSP-Eng & Ire.
2–Nyaleti (Ire), 124, f, 2, Arch–America Nova (Fr), by Verglas (Ire). (40,000gns Ylg '16 TATOCT). O-3 Batterhams and a Reay. £17,200.
3–Masar (Ire), 129, c, 2, New Approach (Ire)–Khawlah (Ire), by Cape Cross (Ire). O-Godolphin. £8,608.
Margins: 2 1/4, NO, 3HF. Odds: 1.35, 10.00, 3.00.
Also Ran: Bartholomeu Dias (GB), Elysium Dream (GB), Bustam (Ire), Gold Town (GB), We Are The World (GB), Hey Gaman (GB), Match Maker (Ire), Westerland (GB), Highlight Reel (Ire), Optimum Time (Ire), Di Fede (Ire), Abandon Ship (Ire). Scratched: Learn By Heart (GB). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Coolmore's decision to go to Deep Impact is already paying dividends, with their star filly of 2007 producing Friday's wayward G2 Queens Vase runner Wisconsin (Jpn) and now this head-turner. Interestingly, although Peeping Fawn retired on the back of four straight group 1 successes including the G1 Irish Oaks, she failed to make the track as a 2-year-old and went four starts before breaking her maiden so September is already streets ahead at a comparative stage. She created a striking impression going through the motions in this race which was made into a serious test by the Mark Johnston representative Nyaleti and which had real substance due to the presence of Godolphin's exciting Masar. Moore's visual confidence at every stage of the contest was notable and although the cramped odds for the Classics offer little value at this fledgling point of the juvenile season history has taught us that Ballydoyle have come to take this race seriously.
Aidan O'Brien, who also saddled the eventual Guineas third Maybe (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) to win this in 2011, was full of praise. “She's bred absolutely in the purple and has a massive engine,” he said. “She's a great traveller and quickens really well. Seamus loved her at Leopardstown and she was very impressive there–she was the first two-year-old we won with first time out this year. What's unusual about her is she's not a very big filly, but she has a big personality and like the real good ones she has a big presence about her. She could be anything really.” The Ballydoyle trainer is looking at the traditional Irish program for the leading juvenile fillies. “You would imagine that she would stay much further in time,” he added. “We might try and finish the season racing at a mile and then see where we go next year–I'm delighted that she does have the pace to run at seven. She could go to the [G2] Debutante [at The Curragh Aug. 20] and then onto the [G1] Moyglare [at The Curragh Sept. 10] next. She is bred to stay very well, so we were thinking of running her in the Albany Stakes, but Ryan thought we should come to this race.”
Mark Johnston was taking plenty out of the the game effort of Nyaleti and rueing his fortunes at the same time as she turned out to be running in the wrong race. “We ran her last Sunday, we knew she was fairly good–we were staggered when she drifted so much at Salisbury because we hadn't gone all the way to Salisbury expecting to come nowhere,” he explained. “We went there principally also to win the Tattersalls bonus as she was one of the cheapest horses in the Book One sale last year and we were determined to win a bonus with her. So we got that last Sunday and it was too late then to enter her in anything other than the Chesham here–she should have been in the Albany. So we've gone a furlong too far today. We had suspicions that that was the case before we ran her, but she's done not bad after a furlong too far. She'll probably go to the Cherry Hinton [the G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. at Newmarket July 14] next. It's the obvious race for her. She's clearly got lots of natural speed and lots of natural ability.”
Charlie Appleby was happy with the run of the third Masar, but feels that the colt who made such an impression in a decent maiden on debut needs some time off now. “The winner is obviously a very smart filly, but I'm pleased with our fellow–I thought he looked very well beforehand,” he commented. “He is a horse for the future. I'll give him a bit of a break now before bringing him back in late summer, early autumn when we'll step him up to a mile. He'll appreciate going further, but he'll need to furnish a bit more.”
The champion dam, who also produced the stable's Sir John Hawkins (Henrythenavigator) who was third in the G2 Coventry S. at this meeting four years ago, is herself regally bred being out of the G1 Fillies' Mile runner-up Maryinsky whose son Thewayyouare is the G1 Criterium International-winning sire. The third dam is the GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Blush With Pride, whose Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister) is the producer of the ground-breaking fellow Kentucky Oaks winner and GI Belmont S. heroine Rags To Riches (A.P. Indy) and another Belmont hero in Jazil. Peeping Fawn's visits to Japan's formidable sire presence is followed by a mating with Australia (GB), with the result being a yearling colt.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
