By Tom Frary
Saturday's G2 A.R.M. Holding Debutante S. resulted in the trifecta of Joseph-Donnacha-Aidan O'Brien in that order as the oldest son of the Ballydoyle master held sway with TDN Rising Star Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}). Runner-up to Donnacha's Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Silver Flash S. over this seven-furlong trip on fast ground at Leopardstown Aug. 6, John Oxley's 3-1 shot was always travelling easily in a share of fourth and when sent on by Shane Crosse brushed aside that rival to gain the lead with a furlong remaining. Hitting the line strong, she had 2 1/2 lengths to spare over the 7-4 favourite, with the same margin back to Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) who fared best of the Ballydoyle runners. “She's a very good filly,” Joseph commented. “We were a bit worried about the ground today, but she obviously handled it. Being by Lawman, we thought that gave her a chance. We felt that she'd definitely get closer to Donnacha's filly after her run in Leopardstown, as we thought the Curragh would be more suitable for us.”
Introduced over a mile at Bellewstown July 2, Pretty Gorgeous lived up to her title with a Rising Star-earning five-length defeat of the useful Talacre (Flintshire {GB}) and may have been racing against the bias when failing to claw back Shale in the Silver Flash. “We were looking for an easy spot for her debut first time at Bellewstown and she qualified for that race, but as it turned out it actually was quite a good race,” her trainer added. “The [G1] Moyglare [Stud S.] looks the logical next step. She has proven that she's versatile ground-wise. I thought Shane gave her a lovely cool ride today, it was a lovely confident ride. She's a big strong lady. She cost a good few quid as a yearling, but she was an outstanding physical specimen at the sales. The sky is the limit for her.”
Pretty Gorgeous is the second black-type winner for Lady Gorgeous (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) after the Listed Prix Nureyev scorer Alwaab (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}). She is kin to the G3 Prix Fille de l'Air third Kartica (GB) (Rainbow Quest), who is in turn the dam of the G1 Coronation S., G1 Prix Rothschild and G2 Duke of Cambridge S. heroine Qemah (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), while the listed-winning second dam Cayman Sunset (Ire) (Night Shift) was also placed in the GII Canadian H. and GIII All Along Breeders' Cup S. hails from the family of the GII Lexington S. and GIII Everglades H. winner Royal Roberto (Roberto). Lady Gorgeous's yearling colt by Shalaa (Ire) was purchased by Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock for 90,000gns at last year's Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
Saturday, Curragh, Ireland
A.R.M. HOLDING DEBUTANTE S.-G2, €80,000, Curragh, 8-22, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:28.53, sf.
1–PRETTY GORGEOUS (FR), 128, f, 2, by Lawman (Fr)
1st Dam: Lady Gorgeous (GB) (SP-Eng), by Compton Place (GB)
2nd Dam: Cayman Sunset (Ire), by Night Shift
3rd Dam: Robinia, by Roberto
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€55,000 Wlg '18 ARQDE; 525,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-John C Oxley; B-EARL Ecurie Haras du Cadran, Enrico Ciampi, SAS I.E.I. & Ecurie La Boetie (FR); T-Joseph O'Brien; J-Shane Crosse. €48,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $84,490. *1/2 to Alwaab (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}), SW-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Shale (Ire), 128, f, 2, Galileo (Ire)–Homecoming Queen (Ire), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Donnacha O'Brien. €16,000.
3–Mother Earth (Ire), 128, f, 2, Zoffany (Ire)–Many Colours (GB), by Green Desert. (€150,000 Ylg '19 GOFOR). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Grenane House Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €8,000.
Margins: 2HF, 2HF, 3/4. Odds: 3.00, 1.75, 5.00.
Also Ran: Meala (Ire), Snowfall (Jpn), Miramis (Ire), Palifico (GB), Finest (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
