By Sue Finley
When Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio {Ire}) won the G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint S. at Naas on Sunday, there was a collective cheer from her new partners across the pond.
Medallion Racing, a racing partnership put together by Taylor Made Farm, bought the two-year-old filly after her five-furlong win at the Curragh in April with partners Barry Fowler, Steve Weston and Dean Reeves. She took the Sunday stakes at Naas in just her second start, her first for the new partners, and now will head to Royal Ascot.
“We traditionally try to buy one to two horses a cycle from Europe,” said Medallion's Phillip Shelton. “We find that the prices are a little more reasonable, and you can find a horse with Grade I potential. We bought a filly named Papilio (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) last year from Europe who won the Grade II Appalachian at Keeneland in April.”
“We loved the way this filly quickened on debut,” Shelton continued. “She was a bit green and never looked like she was going to win until she made up a couple of lengths in what felt like a few strides. The group stakes schedule gives you an immediate shot at group black type. In America there isn't a graded stakes for two-year-old fillies on grass until September.”
Originally owned by Annemarie O'Brien, Porta Fortuna stayed with her son, trainer Donnacha, despite the switch in owners.
“We work with Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock and we started discussing if there was a deal to be done. Luckily, we were able to get a deal done, and were happy to keep the filly with Donnacha,” said Shelton. “We couldn't do any of it without our partners who trust us to put them in on the right horses. Our Medallion partners have been great, as well as Steve Weston and Barry Fowler, who are two of our biggest supporters, and partners on Papilio as well. This is the first horse we have had with Dean Reeves, but he has been a Taylor Made customer in the past. All of our yearlings are broken at Two Springs Farm, of Chetley and Nellie Breeden's. Dean owns the farm and we got to spend some time together this winter talking about trying to find the right horse to partner on.”
“We thought she was a nice filly, but obviously you never expect to win a Group race with a filly that's had just one run,” O'Brien said. “It's nice to see her handle the step up in class well. She has a really good pedigree; back along there are a lot of good horses in it.”
As to which race they'll target at Ascot, “We'll leave that up to Donnacha,” said Shelton. “The race today was a stiff six furlongs and she quickened really well, so the Group 3 Albany could suit. She probably has enough pace for the Group 2 Queen Mary if we wanted to drop her back, but we will let Donnacha guide us on the best spot.”
Said O'Brien, “If she goes it will probably be for the Albany as she looked to get a stiff six furlongs here well. She handles all kinds of ground, so I wouldn't be worried either way. The American partners, they liked her, they invested in her and they were dead right. She's a valuable filly now.”
Added Shelton, “We are very excited. Royal Ascot is such a special meeting, and should be on everyone's racing bucket list. We'll be going this year with a filly we think has a shot to run very well.”
“We thought she was smart.”
Donnacha O'Brien doesn't think his @NaasRacecourse winner Porta Fortuna would have a problem with the trip in either the Queen Mary or the Albany Stakes 👇 pic.twitter.com/ValxvfVqxV
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 21, 2023
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