TDN RISING STARS

July 29, 2024 - GALWAY, Msw, EUR €20,000, 7.0F, .0000

Rock of Cashel (IRE), C, 2, 2022 by Wootton Bassett (GB)

1st Dam: Best In The World (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Red Evie (Ire), by Intikhab
3rd Dam: Malafemmena (Ire), by Nordico

Owner: Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier
Breeder: Coolmore (IRE)
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien

Putting an indifferent debut effort at The Curragh firmly behind him, Ballydoyle's Rock Of Cashel (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}-Best In The World {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) made all to take the often-informative seven-furlong maiden on the opening card of the Galway festival and become the stable's latest TDN Rising Star. Only eighth as the 7-4 favourite in the Barronstown Stud Maiden on Irish Derby day, the half-brother to the brilliant Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was quickly away under Wayne Lordan and placed straight on the front end.

Harrassed throughout, the 3-1 joint-second favourite found plenty to assert in the straight and win what looked a warm renewal by 2 1/4 lengths from Admiral Churchill (GB) (Kodiac {GB}), with half a length back to Viking Invasion (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) in third. The winner is the eighth TDN Rising Star for his sire, with the best so far being stablemates Unquestionable (Fr) and River Tiber (Ire).

"He was just very babyish the first day and in fairness he's come forward from it," O'Brien's representative Chris Armstrong said of the homebred, who was joining the likes of Grey Swallow (Ire) (Daylami {Ire}) in winning this. "He's still quite babyish, but he's going to be a lovely horse in time, he's still putting it all together. We might look at something like the [G2] Futurity for him, some of those nice races. Wayne was very happy with him and he thought he'd come forward nicely from the last day. There is still plenty more to come. We'll step him up into group company and see where he fits in with the rest of them."

Pedigree Notes

Rock Of Cashel is the fourth foal out of the G3 Give Thanks Stakes winner Best In The World, who was also second in the G2 Blandford Stakes. Her first was the aforementioned Snowfall, who followed a breathtaking win in the Oaks with a follow-up in the G1 Irish Oaks and G1 Yorkshire Oaks, while her third was another TDN Rising Star in Alfred Munnings (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) who achieved a trio of group 3 placings for this stable but never hit the expected heights.

Best In The World is out of the G1 Matron Stakes and G1 Lockinge Stakes heroine Red Evie (Ire) (Intikhab), whose daughter Found (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) entered Coolmore folklore as the heroine of the Arc and Breeders' Cup Turf and who later produced the stable's G2 Vintage Stakes winner and G1 St James's Palace Stakes and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf-placed Battleground (War Front). Red Evie is also responsible for Galileo's G3 Flame of Tara Stakes winner and Oaks and Irish Oaks-placed Divinely (Ire), G3 C. L. Weld Park Stakes scorer Magical Dream (Ire) and Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial runner-up Rubies Are Red (Ire). Best In The World's yearling is a full-brother to Alfred Munnings.