By Tom Frary
As brave as they come, Ballydoyle's Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}–Attire {Ire}, by Danehill Dancer {Ire}) relished a supreme ride from the front by Ryan Moore to register a first mile-and-a-half career success in Friday's G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom. Having set steady fractions for the first half of the contest, the 9-4 second favourite was asked to stretch running to Tattenham Corner and was all heart in response to get to the line a length ahead of the beloved Haggas veteran Hamish (GB) (Motivator {GB}).
Denied the chance to run in the Derby over this course and distance two years ago, the stalwart got to Surrey at last to make it a Group 1 win in each campaign. TDN Rising Stars Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman (GB) and Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) finished third and fourth, beaten a further six and 3 1/2 lengths, respectively.
“We always thought he was a mile-and-a-half horse and we ran him a little bit short over the winter,” Aidan O'Brien said. “The better the ground, the better he'll be and we think he'll hopefully be a King George horse.”
Such a bright prospect in 2021 when extending an unbeaten run in the G1 Futurity Trophy, Luxembourg suffered a muscle injury during the 2,000 Guineas and later in the Arc but still mustered a victory in the G1 Irish Champion S. in between. Not always at his best last term, he still managed an all-the-way success in The Curragh's G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, and gallant seconds to Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in defence of his Irish Champion title and in the G1 Hong Kong Cup.
Happy at the head of affairs here with ears flicking in all directions, he was visibly waiting for the command from Moore and when it finally came all the balled-up energy proved a fuel injection for the demanding run up the straight. Perfectly-balanced throughout the closing stages, where only Hamish emerged from a talented pack to put him in the red, Luxembourg was in no mood to relinquish as he delivered Coronation Cup number nine for his stable.
“Ryan gave him a brilliant ride,” O'Brien added. “He had him in a lovely and relaxed rhythm early on, and when he started to quicken his fractions were brilliant. A horse like that in front, the way Ryan was riding him, was always going to be difficult to deal with if you were following him.”
Maureen Haggas said of Hamish, “I'm absolutely thrilled to bits with him. We could have done with more rain and Ryan's ridden a brilliant race on the winner. The problem with him is that every time he runs you are just terrified it's going to be his last, in case he breaks down again. It's pathetic, but he's just like my pet. He's a bloody star, it's all you can say. I'll be very happy if it rains all summer, but nobody else will be!”
John Gosden said of the 7-4 favourite Emily Upjohn, who was too free attempting back-to-back wins, “I've been telling people she'll come on for the run. She's been very laid-back in her work and it was a steady pace and then a bit of a sprint. She'll come on a bundle for it. She could go to Royal Ascot for something like the Hardwicke. We need to get her on the racetrack.”
Pedigree Notes
Luxembourg's dam Attire's first major runner was Leo De Fury (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who took the G2 Mooresbridge S., while she is also responsible for the G3 Ballylinch Stud Priory Belle 1,000 Guineas Trial and G3 Lanwades Stud Denny Cordell Lavarack Memorial S.-placed Sense Of Style (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Luxembourg's G3 Eyrefield S.-placed full-brother Hiawatha (Ire). A half to the group winner Forgotten Voice (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), her dam Asnieres (Spend A Buck) is kin to the ground-breaking GI Breeders' Cup Classic-winning sire Arcangues from a distinguished Wildenstein family.
It includes the G1 Prix de Diane, G1 Prix Vermeille and G1 Prix Ganay heroine Aquarelliste (Fr) (Danehill) and fellow top-level performers Artiste Royal (Ire) also by Danehill, Ziyad (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), Ame Bleue (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and also, intriguingly, Saturday's Derby contender Dallas Star (Fr) (Cloth Of Stars {Ire}). Attire's unraced 3-year-old filly Vanilla (Ire) is a full-sibling to Luxembourg, as are her unnamed 2-year-old filly and yearling colt.
Ryan Moore… so good 👏
He steers LUXEMBOURG to a fourth G1 success in the G1 Coronation Cup @EpsomRacecourse pic.twitter.com/AidIqHEzaV
— World Horse Racing (@WHR) May 31, 2024
Friday, Epsom, Britain
HOLLAND COOPER CORONATION CUP-G1, £445,000, Epsom, 5-31, 4yo/up, 12f 6yT, 2:42.12, g/s.
1–LUXEMBOURG (IRE), 128, h, 5, by Camelot (GB)
1st Dam: Attire (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
2nd Dam: Asnieres, by Spend A Buck
3rd Dam: Albertine (Fr), by Irish River (Fr)
(150,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Westerberg, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor & D Smith; B-B V Sangster (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £252,360. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Ire & G1SP-HK, 16-7-3-1, $3,218,165. *Full to Hiawatha (Ire), GSP-Ire; and 1/2 to Leo De Fury (Ire) (Australia {GB}), GSW-Ire, $156,911; and Sense Of Style (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), MGSP-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Hamish (GB), 128, g, 8, Motivator (GB)–Tweed (GB), by Sakhee. O-B Haggas; B-J B Haggas (GB); T-William Haggas. £95,675.
3–Feed The Flame (GB), 128, c, 4, Kingman (GB)–Knyazhna (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire). TDN Rising Star. (€270,000 Ylg '21 ARAUG). O-Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard; B-Ecurie des Monceaux, Lordship Stud & Clear Light SAS (GB); T-Pascal Bary. £47,882.
Margins: 1, 6, 3HF. Odds: 2.25, 4.00, 6.00.
Also Ran: Emily Upjohn (GB), Time Lock (GB).
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