First Group 2 for US first-season sire Justify
STATUETTE, a daughter of the US Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy), made it two from two when taking the Airlie Stud Stakes (G2) by three-quarters of a length from the Footstepsinthesand filly Badb. She is the sire’s first Group and stakes winner, who has had three winners from eight starters. He has a first two-year-old crop of 175.
Statuette is a daughter of the two-time Group 1 winner Immortal Verse (Pivotal), bought for 4,700,000gns by BBA Ireland on behalf of a Coolmore partnership in 2013, a then European record price. Immortal Verse comes from the deep Kilfrush Stud family of Last Tycoon, Sense Of Style, Valentine Waltz and The United States.
She is already dam of one highly talented filly – last year’s Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) winner Tenebrism and after today’s race jockey Ryan Moore told Nick Luck and Racing TV that there some similarities between the pair but also marked physical differences.
“There are some similarities, but physically they are very different,” he said. “Tenebrisim is quite handy, this girl is obviously a bit bigger. You can see Immortal Verse in the pair of them – the markings in the head, they are different colours but a few characteristics are the same. They are two very good fillies. Statuette is not slow, she won over five and a half at Navan and six today, I think it will be step by step [increase in distance], but she will tell us.”
He added: “She is a good filly, we knew she was good. She travelled into the race beautifully, she is very relaxed, and as at Navan I had to tell her to go and do it. Her last furlong was her best again. She is a big filly, she has a great attitude, you’d like everything about her, I think we will see the better of her at the back end.”
Daughter of fellow dual Group 1 winner Simply Perfect gets off the mark on debut
The first race at The Curragh today, the Barronstown Stud Irish EBF Maiden, was won on debut by Proud And Regal, a daughter of the late Coolmore sire Galileo.
She is also a daughter of a dual Group 1 winner, this time Simply Perfect (Danehill), who won the Falmouth Stakes and the Fillies’ Mile.
Her 2011 foal Melong River, a full-brother to Proud And Regal, was a Group 3 winner and Group 1 fourth placed, and her 2016 filly Simply Beautiful, also by Galileo, was Group 3 placed.