By Tom Frary
One of those who paid for going too fast before it got serious in the Derby, Abdulla Al Mansoori's West Wind Blows (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) showed that big experience had done nothing to dent his natural enthusiasm with a command performance in Friday's Listed British Stallions Studs EBF Glasgow S. at Hamilton. Earning TDN Rising Star status in a 10-furlong novice at Nottingham May 6, the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained son of the G1 Prix de Diane heroine West Wind (GB) (Machiavellian) had run ninth in the Blue Riband having helped force a pace that proved too demanding June 4. Sent straight to the front by Ben Curtis in this 11-furlong contest won in recent times by the likes of Postponed (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Defoe (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), the 5-4 favourite was propelled forward by the presence of Groundbreaker (Ger) (Oasis Dream {GB}) in the straight and powered away to register a margin to that rival of 7 1/2 lengths at the line.
Withdrawn from Newbury's 10-furlong Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup British EBF Conditions S. Apr. 17 after he unseated his rider and got loose before the start, West Wind Blows who hails from the family of Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is unbeaten bar his Derby reversal having also won on debut over an extended 10 furlongs at Newcastle in December. “Ben thought he'd be a bit keen here, but he came back to him and he was idling in front,” the owner's racing manager Phillip Robinson said. “He really performed tonight and it the Derby probably made a man of him. He ran an extraordinary race there and seems to have come on mentally for that. He didn't wear a hood and was relaxed–he's just a proper horse. He has an entry in the [G2 Great] Voltigeur and the Arc, so we'll see.”
West Wind Blows is the eighth foal out of the 2007 Diane heroine, whose other black-type performer was the G3 Eclipse S. runner-up Setting Sail (GB) (Dansili {GB}), GSP-Aus, $125,876. The second dam is the G2 Sun Chariot S. winner Red Slippers (Nureyev), whose daughter Eastern Joy (GB) (Dubai Destination) is responsible for six black-type scorers including the dual Dubai World Cup hero Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}), the G2 May Hill S. winner and G1 1000 Guineas-placed Ihtimal (Ire) (Shamardal) and Always Smile (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) who was runner-up in the G1 Sun Chariot S. and third in the G1 Falmouth S.
Also out of Eastern Joy is the G3 Oh So Sharp S. scorer First Victory (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), whose aforementioned son Coroebus is now the winner of the 2000 Guineas and St James's Palace S. This is also the family of the G1 Irish Derby and G1 Epsom Oaks heroine Balanchine (Storm Bird) and the G1 Irish Derby hero Sovereign (Ire) by Teofilo's sire Galileo (Ire). West Wind's 2-year-old colt is a full-brother to the winner, who is the fourth TDN Rising Star for his sire and second this year alongside the recent fellow listed scorer Wexford Native (Ire).
BRITISH STALLIONS STUDS EBF GLASGOW S.-Listed, £55,250, Hamilton, 7-15, 3yo, 11f 15yT, 2:17.60, g/f.
1–WEST WIND BLOWS (IRE), 133, c, 3, by Teofilo (Ire)
1st Dam: West Wind (GB) (G1SW-Fr, G1SP-Ire, $773,178), by Machiavellian
2nd Dam: Red Slippers, by Nureyev
3rd Dam: Morning Devotion, by Affirmed
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Mr Abdulla Al Mansoori; B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Simon & Ed Crisford; J-Ben Curtis. £31,332. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $46,659. *1/2 to Setting Sail (GB) (Dansili {GB}), GSP-Aus, $125,876.
2–Groundbreaker (Ger), 133, c, 3, Oasis Dream (GB)–Guajara (Ger), by Montjeu (Ire). (130,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT).
1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Stiftung Gestut Fahrhof (GER); T-Andrew Balding. £11,879.
3–Zain Sarinda (Ire), 133, c, 3, Churchill (Ire)–Sarinda (GB), by Dubawi (Ire). (62,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Elbashir Salem AB Elhari & Team Valor; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited (IRE); T-Tom Clover. £5,945.
Margins: 7HF, 3HF, 5. Odds: 1.25, 6.50, 4.50.
Also Ran: Nahanni (GB).
West Wind Blows wins the listed British Stallions Studs EBF Glasgow Stakes by a wide margin under Ben Curtis for Simon & Ed Crisford @gainsboroughHQ pic.twitter.com/cw2UsUVOLZ
— Hamilton Park (@HamiltonParkRC) July 15, 2022
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