By Sean Cronin
Cheveley Park Stud's undefeated 2-year-old filly Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), whose run of three straight successes included impressive wide-margin tallies in Sandown's Listed Star S. and Doncaster's G2 May Hill S., entered winter quarters at the forefront of the juvenile fillies' division after posting another taking score in Friday's G1 bet365 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket. In so doing, she emulated 2017 scorer Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who also picked up Doncaster's May Hill en route to victory in this straight test. Inspiral had earlier overcome a slow start to debut with a 1 1/2-length score at Newmarket in June and was one of just two ploughing a furrow down the centre of the course, racing in the slipstream of the forward-running Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}) through halfway. Making smooth headway into contention passing the three-furlong pole, the 8-11 favourite launched her challenge at the quarter-mile marker and was pushed out up the hill to comfortably assert superiority for a career high. Park Hill runner-up Prosperous Voyage (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) was best of the rest, finishing 2 1/2 lengths adrift of the winner and a neck ahead of the keeping-on Cachet in third.
“She won well in the May Hill and was learning there and she was pretty professional today so I think that is fair comment that she has come on for racing,” said John Gosden after adding to his four prior wins in the contest. “She travelled well into the race and handled the dip. You want to know if they will handle the dip and it might be different if it was fast ground, but she handled it well and I'm very happy with her. She is a big girl, but is getting stronger all the time. When we ran her first time on the July Course she had only ever been on the bridle [at home] and always did everything easily. She was a little confused, but she showed her class straight away. She is a filly that would be easy to over-train so she wasn't tried at home first.”
Looking ahead, the trainer insisted a visit to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup is not on the agenda for Inspiral and she will likely point to next term's G1 1000 Guoneas over course and distance. “I think she will get a mile-and-a-quarter in time, no problem, but getting a mile-and-a-half I don't know,” he added. “You either go straight to the [1000] Guineas, go for a trial or a racecourse gallop, but it is a long way off. All I know is she is not going to Del Mar [for the Breeders' Cup] and she is one to put away for next year. It is great with Pat Thompson here and it is very fulfilling for owner-breeders to have fillies of this quality.”
Frankie Dettori, whose haul of seven renewals is a race record, was in ebullient mood in the aftermath and said, “She doesn't stop surprising me and travelled like the winner all the way. She travelled really well and the [1000] Guineas is now the question. She came into the dip and came out of it well. James [Doyle] on Cachet was matching the other one [on the lead] so I wasn't losing any ground [racing wide of the field] and I had a good tow from him. I tried to join the others at the three [-furlong marker] and sat quietly until the top of the dip. Then I asked her to quicken and she came out of the dip really well. She is very good, but I don't have to say that as she has won everything. I felt I had it won on top of the brow, two-and-a-half furlongs out.”
Inspiral is one of four winners from as many runners produced by G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation S. runner-up Starscope (GB) (Selkirk), herself a half-sister to Listed Rosemary S. victrix Solar Magic (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Starscope, who is out of a half-sister to MG1SW sire Medicean (GB) (Machiavellian), has also produced last term's Listed Cocked Hat S. third Celestran (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and a weanling colt by Siyouni (Fr). Inspiral's MGSP third dam Mystic Goddess (Storm Bird), who annexed the Listed Sweet Solera S., is a half-sister to G1 Gran Criterium-winning sire Sanam (Golden Act) and MG1SP dual Group 2 winner Shaybani (Al Nasr {Fr}).
Friday, Newmarket, Britain
BET365 FILLIES' MILE-G1, £500,000, Newmarket, 10-8, 2yo, f, 8fT, 1:38.44, g/s.
1–INSPIRAL (GB), 126, f, 2, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Starscope (GB) (MG1SP-Eng, $251,626), by Selkirk
2nd Dam: Moon Goddess (GB), by Rainbow Quest
3rd Dam: Mystic Goddess, by Storm Bird
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Cheveley Park Stud Ltd (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £283,550. Lifetime Record: 4-4-0-0, $512,557. *1/2 to Celestran (GB) (Dansili {GB}), SP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Prosperous Voyage (Ire), 126, f, 2, Zoffany (Ire)–Seatone, by Mizzen Mast. (£65,000 Ylg '20 GOFOR). O-Marc Chan & Andrew Rosen; B-Lynch-Bages & Camas Park Stud (IRE); T-Ralph Beckett. £107,500.
3–Cachet (Ire), 126, f, 2, Aclaim (Ire)–Poyle Sophie (GB), by Teofilo (Ire). (14,000gns RNA Ylg '20 TATASY; 60,000gns 2yo '21 TATBRE). O-Highclere Thoroughbred Racing (Wild Flower); B-Hyde Park Stud (IRE); T-George Boughey. £53,800.
Margins: 2HF, NK, NO. Odds: 0.73, 16.00, 22.00.
Also Ran: Mise En Scene (GB), Wild Beauty (GB), Concert Hall (Ire), Magical Lagoon (Ire), Bouquet (GB), Majestic Glory (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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