By Tom Frary
One of the least experienced in the line-up for Saturday's G3 Princess Margaret Keeneland S. at Ascot, Saeed Manana's Under the Stars (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) had the right material to belie odds of 25-1 and register a first black-type success for her sire who had also caused a shock in these colours in the 2000 Guineas. Anchored in last early by PJ McDonald having missed the break from the stall nearest the stands, the bay who had won with panache after a similarly tardy start on debut over this six-furlong trip at Ripon July 8 was soon comfortably in touch with Good Vibes (GB) (Due Diligence) too keen in front. Arriving to tackle fellow outsider Aroha (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) inside the last 75 yards, the homebred who failed to make more than 6,000gns at the Tattersalls October Book 3 Sale asserted to score by a half length, with Living In the Past (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) a head away in third.
“The best thing about her is her attitude and she probably gets that from her sire,” trainer James Tate said. “She doesn't do too much at home and doesn't worry about anything. We didn't really know what she had under the bonnet, but we got a glimpse there and it's exciting. I'm sure we will go for the [Aug. 22 G2] Lowther [at York] and the [G1] Cheveley Park [S. at Newmarket Sept. 28], as I'm sure that's the obvious route. I'm sure we will invest some of that prize-money, as hopefully the Lowther supplementary costs less than that.”
While her task was possibly made easier by the withdrawal of TDN Rising Star Ultra Violet (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) after the rain which also may have impacted on the disappointing performance of the Listed Empress Fillies' S. winner and fellow TDN Rising Star Summer Romance (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), Under the Stars is a filly who has abundant potential winning a six-furlong juvenile black-type contest as her sire did in the Listed Doncaster S. Summer Romance's rider James Doyle said of the 4-5 favourite, who finished sixth, “If I'd ridden the race again I would have let her bowl along, but she got quite excited beforehand and I wanted to get the first part of the race right.”
Winning jockey PJ McDonald was impressed with Under the Stars. “She's all heart,” he said. “She's so tough and an absolute pro. We wanted to let her warm up into the race and she wanted it the last two furlongs. She does everything so well at home, we were surprised that she was green first time out and she completely switched off for the first part of this race and came good at halfway to put the race to bed nicely. She surprised me today and you couldn't ask her to do any more than that. She's beaten a very experienced field, so I'm very confident she'll go a bit further this year. She got the six very well on easy ground at Ascot, so you wouldn't think stepping up in trip in the future would be a problem but she can stay at six for now.”
The dam Jumeirah Palm Star (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is a granddaughter of the GII Palomar H. winner Shir Dar (Fr) (Lead On Time), whose leading performer is the G3 Sandown Sprint S. runner-up Gee Kel (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). The fourth dam Irish Sea (Irish River {Fr}) is a half-sister to the G3 Meld S.-winning prolific producer Sailor's Mate (Shirley Heights {GB}) and to Grecian Sea (Fr) (Homeric {GB}) who was responsible for the G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Hellenic (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}). Jumeirah Palm Star's yearling colt is by The Last Lion (Ire), while she also has a colt foal by Slade Power (Ire).
Saturday, Ascot, Britain
PRINCESS MARGARET KEENELAND S.-G3, £50,000, Ascot, 7-27, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:17.04, g/s.
1–UNDER THE STARS (IRE), 126, f, 2, by Night of Thunder (Ire)
1st Dam: Jumeirah Palm Star (GB), by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
2nd Dam: Golden Flyer (Fr), by Machiavellian
3rd Dam: Shir Dar (Fr), by Lead On Time
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (6,000gns Ylg '18 TAOCT). O-Saeed Manana; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-James Tate; J-P J McDonald. £28,355. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $39,970. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Aroha (Ire), 126, f, 2, Kodiac (GB)–Surrey Storm (GB), by Montjeu (Ire). (€68,000 Wlg '17 GOFNOV; £45,000 RNA Ylg '18 GOUKPR). O-Anna Sundstrom & Robert Sinclair; B-Ballinacurra Stud Ltd (IRE); T-Brian Meehan. £10,750.
3–Living in the Past (Ire), 126, f, 2, Bungle Inthejungle (GB)–Ayr Missile (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB). (€65,000 Ylg '18 GOFSPT). O-Clipper Logistics; B-Newlands House Stud & Mrs A M Burns (IRE); T-Karl Burke. £5,380.
Margins: HF, HD, 1 3/4. Odds: 25.00, 16.00, 12.00.
Also Ran: Dark Lady (GB), Good Vibes (GB), Summer Romance (Ire), So Sharp (GB), Flaming Princess (Ire), Diligent Deb (Ire). Scratched: Applecross (Ire), Punita Arora (Ire), Ultra Violet (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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