By Tom Frary
Frankie's farewell tour took another notable turn on Saturday as Cheveley Park Stud's brilliant Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}– Starscope {GB}, by Selkirk) dominated the G1 Sun Chariot S. to provide the rider with his 500th Newmarket winner.
Always travelling like the clear-best filly in the line-up with Dettori keen to wait behind the leader, the 10-11 favourite was unleashed towards the far rail three out and surged to the line with relish to score by 3 3/4 lengths from Mqse De Sevigne (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), with Heredia (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) 3/4 of a length away in third.
“She showed the world today what a superstar horse she is,” Dettori said after the expected warm welcome back to the winner's enclosure he knows so well and where he received a curtsey from the filly's owner-breeder Patricia Thompson. “We knew the pace wasn't going to be that strong and she wants a much stronger tempo. She has got a crescendo of three furlongs and I didn't want to mess around so I thought 'come on let's go and let them come and try to catch you'. She has strode out really well.”
“She gave me a nightmare ride in France, but today she was good,” Dettori added. “I was quite worried when she was so quiet, as when they are quiet it is maybe because they are over the top or maybe they are in season, but that wasn't the case. She was quiet because she was having a good day. It has been my home for 38 years. It is fantastic to be able to do it in a Group 1 on a special filly. I couldn't have written a better ending.”
On her day and when conditions suit, Inspiral is a force to be reckoned with as she proved with impressive wins in Royal Ascot's G1 Coronation S. last June and in the last two editions of Deauville's G1 Prix Jacques le Marois. Not at her best when second in last year's G1 Falmouth S. on the July Course here and in the G1 Queen Anne S. on her 2023 bow, she had testing ground as the excuse when out of the frame in both the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. in October and in the G1 Sussex S. in August.
Now the Gosdens are rightly thinking of the Breeders' Cup Mile, with Inspiral's dynamic acceleration and powerful finish clear indication that this is a filly heading into the autumn in rare form. Her two splits between three out and the furlong pole were completed in :11.21 and :11.01 and that is the kind of speed on demand that wins out at next month's World Championships. “She is in the QEII and she could be entered at the Breeders' Cup, but we won't make a decision for at least a week or two,” Gosden Sr said.
“She was in top form today,” he added. “She showed a lot of class today there is no doubt about it. She travelled well and there was a good pace. Andre's dual Group 1 winner from Deauville was second, so it is solid form. We missed the Lockinge as she had a muscle spasm problem, so by the time we got to Royal Ascot she was only about 80% fit. She was only beaten a neck that day and she got a touch tired in the last half a furlong, but she has been faultless since.”
“There was a lot more pressure on today as she is a very good filly and the ground is quicker here than we would expect to find here in the autumn. It is real fast summer ground, but she has run absolutely superbly and I couldn't be more pleased. One lady will decide if she races on and that is Mrs. Thompson. That was only her fourth run this year and she is weighing the heaviest she has ever weighed.”
Pedigree Notes
Inspiral's dam Starscope was runner-up over this course and distance in the G1 1000 Guineas and also in the Coronation S. that her daughter so dominated last summer. Also responsible for the listed-placed middle-distance performer Celestran (GB) (Dansili {GB}), she is a daughter of the Stud's Moon Goddess (GB) (Rainbow Quest) whose half-siblings include the G1 Eclipse S. and G1 Juddmonte International-winning leading sire Medicean (GB). From the dynasty of the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains hero and leading sire Caro (Ire), Starscope's unraced 2-year-old colt by Siyouni (Fr) is named Megastar (GB), while she also has a yearling colt by Ulysses (Ire) and a foal full-sister to Inspiral.
Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
VIRGIN BET SUN CHARIOT S.-G1, £291,580, Newmarket, 10-7, 3yo/up, f/m, 8fT, 1:35.65, g/f.
1–INSPIRAL (GB), 131, f, 4, 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
O-Cheveley Park Stud; B-Cheveley Park Stud Limited (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. £165,355. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Fr, 12-8-2-0, $2,599,932. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Mqse de Sevigne (Ire), 131, f, 4, Siyouni (Fr)–Penne (Fr), by Sevres Rose (Ire). O-Baron Edouard De Rothschild; B-SC Ecurie De Meautry (IRE); T-Andre Fabre. £62,690.
3–Heredia (GB), 131, f, 4, Dark Angel (Ire)–Nakuti (Ire), by Mastercraftsman (Ire).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-St Albans Bloodstock Limited; B-St Albans Bloodstock LLP (GB); T-Richard Hannon. £31,374.
Margins: 3 3/4, 3/4, 1HF. Odds: 0.91, 3.30, 6.00.
Also Ran: Coppice (GB), Meditate (Ire), Random Harvest (Ire), Roman Mist (Ire), Goldana (Ire).
🔥 The Farwell Tour script continues to write itself!
🏆 A straightforward victory for Inspiral in the Group 1 @VirginBet Sun Chariot Stakes for John & @thadygosden
A 5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ th win @NewmarketRace for @FrankieDettori pic.twitter.com/oFd81mcJqL
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 7, 2023
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