By Tom Frary
Returning to the Curragh venue at which he made a remarkable debut last month, Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}–Devoted To You {Ire}, by Danehill Dancer {Ire}) had to endure his first fight to stretch his unbeaten record in Saturday's G3 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai International Stakes. What was left in the tank at the end of the 10-furlong contest after he had mastered the long-time leader Trustyourinstinct (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) by a neck remains to be seen, but the manner in which the 8-13 favourite hit the line with ears pricked suggests there is an abundance to come.
Ryan Moore had to cajole from some way out to get the eight-length maiden winner engaged in a tussle with that Joseph O'Brien trainee, but there was a sense of inevitability come the closing stages and ultimately Jan Brueghel had overcome understandable greenness and smart older horses to maintain his momentum. “We were worried about the ground, but we knew he had improved a lot from the last day and knew he'd stay further,” O'Brien said of the full-brother to the G1 Irish Derby hero Sovereign (Ire).
“You could see him swapping and changing when he turned in and Ryan was very good on him I thought,” he added. “He will stay much further and will be very happy going up to a mile and a half. We came here to educate him and bring him on. It's hard going from a maiden straight into a group race. Joseph's horse brought him along at an even gallop and it was a competitive race. Ryan said he was having a right look going to the line, so there is obviously plenty there still.”
“We were thinking of coming here then going on to Goodwood for the [G3] Gordon and then to the Leger after that, if the lads decided to go that far,” O'Brien revealed. “Sovereign got a mile and a half really well, really strong. This fella is a better mover than Sovereign, a very low mover and a bigger horse. He's very exciting going forward.”
Pedigree Notes
Alongside the aforementioned Sovereign, Jan Brueghel is also a full-brother to the stayer Dawn Rising (Ire) who was third in last year's G1 Irish St Leger. The dam Devoted To You (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) was runner-up in the G2 Debutante Stakes and is a half-sister to four stakes winners headed by the GIII Honeybee S. scorer Humble Eight (Seattle Battle), while the family also features another Irish Derby winner in Storm Bird's daughter Balanchine and the G2 Sun Chariot Stakes winner Red Slippers (Nureyev) whose descendants are headed by the dual G1 Dubai World Cup hero Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) and the G1 2,000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace Stakes winner Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Devoted To You's yearling filly is by St Mark's Basilica (Fr).
Saturday, Curragh, Ireland
AL BASTI EQUIWORLD DUBAI INTERNATIONAL STAKES-G3, €100,000, Curragh, 6-29, 3yo/up, 10fT, 2:09.86, y/s.
1–JAN BRUEGHEL (IRE), 123, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Devoted To You (Ire) (MGSP-Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
2nd Dam: Alleged Devotion, by Alleged
3rd Dam: Morning Devotion, by Affirmed
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. TDN Rising Star. O-Westerberg, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor, D Smith; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €60,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $77,084. *Full to Dawn Rising (Ire), G1SP-Ire, GSP-Eng, $277,824; Full to Sovereign (Ire), G1SW-Ire, G1SP-Eng, $1,173,919. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Trustyourinstinct (Ire), 135, g, 4, Churchill (Ire)–Gussy Goose (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-John P McManus; B-Noreen McManus (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €20,000.
3–Ecureuil Secret (Fr), 123, c, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Vitizza (Fr), by King's Best. (€22,000 Ylg '22 ARQDOY; €60,000 RNA 2yo '23 ARQMAY). O-Aidan Ryan; B-Ecurie de L'Aure (FR); T-Edward O'Grady. €10,000.
Margins: NK, 4HF, 3/4. Odds: 0.62, 9.00, 14.00.
Also Ran: Bolster (GB), Self Belief (Ire), Wendla (GB), Empress Of Beauty (Fr), Chazzesmee (Ire).
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