Sea The Stars Filly Earns Rising Star Tag at The Curragh

She may have been a shade slowly into stride for Saturday's Irish Stallions Farms EBF Maiden at The Curragh, but Moyglare Stud Farm's 2-year-old filly Eclat de Lumiere (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) was motoring at the business end of the seven-furlong contest to earn TDN Rising Star status with a degree of panache and become the 12th 'TDN Rising Star' for her sire. Overcoming a dawdling getaway and an unfavourable outside draw to track the leaders in sixth after the initial strides, the 7-2 chance made smooth headway into contention approaching the quarter-mile marker and kept on strongly once launching her challenge passing the furlong marker to deny the promising effort of Benitoite (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) by a half length.

“She's a lovely filly and she had been working nicely, but she's still a very big immature filly so whether I run her again this year or not is debatable,” said trainer Dermot Weld. “The ground was probably a shade softer than ideal for her and Colin [Keane] just thought she has plenty of pace. If I run her once more again it will be in a stakes race and that will be it. I'll discuss it with her owner Eva Maria Haefner. There is the [G3] CL Weld Park S., but I wouldn't the ground too soft as she's a very good actioned filly. She's a lovely filly for next year. She had the race won from a fair bit out today and is a lovely filly in the making.”

Eclat de Lumiere becomes the seventh scorer produced by a winning daughter of stakes-winning G3 Prix Penelope third Bellona (Ire) (Bering {GB}), herself a half-sister to three black-type performers headed by G3 Prix de Flore-winning matriarch In Clover (GB) (Inchinor {GB}). The April-foaled homebred chestnut, the latest foal for her dam, is a full-sister to G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris victrix Listen In (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and a half to G1SW Hong Kong champion Dominant (Ire) (Cacique {Ire}), G2 Lennox S.-winning sire Es Que Love (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) and Listed Midsummer S. winner Zhui Feng (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

1st-Curragh, €16,500, Mdn, 8-21, 2yo, 7fT, 1:30.70, sf.
ECLAT DE LUMIERE (IRE), f, 2, by Sea the Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Es Que (GB), by Inchinor (GB)
2nd Dam: Bellona (Ire), by Bering (GB)
3rd Dam: Bellarida (Fr), by Bellypha (Ire)
1ST-TIME STARTER. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $11,584. O/B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Dermot Weld. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.