Westover becomes Frankel’s 23rd top winner
WESTOVER became Frankel’s 23rd Group or Grade 1 winner, and second in less than week after Nashwa’s victory in the Prix de Diane last Sunday. The colt put in a dominant display in the Irish Derby (G1) more than making up for trouble in running he met earlier in the month in the Epsom Derby when third behind Desert Crown and the subsequently sold Hoo Ya Mal.
The Juddmonte homebred is trained by Ralph Beckett, who said to Nick Luck on Racing TV: “It was an effort I don’t think we were expecting, I am delighted. Everything had really gone to plan this week, he travelled over yesterday and settled in really well, it felt like we’d got our ducks in a row and so it proved.
“I was delighted with him at Epsom, it was not his fault or anyone’s fault that he ran in to traffic, it was just one of those things. To do this today in the manner that he did was very impressive, I was delighted with him.
“His brother was exactly the same, Fabilis, a completely different type, but very much the same, too. He got better with racing and I think this horse will.
“We will have a think about the King George, it is the obvious race for him, it is just question if the right thing for him. He is not ground dependent so that makes life a better easier. I have never worried about ground for him. He is just very uncomplicated.”
Westover is the 10th foal out of the mare Miraiblis (Lear Fan) dam of six winners, including the Group 3 winner Monarchs Glen, also by Frankel. She is a half-sister to the Prix de Diane (G1) winner Nebraska Tornado (Storm Cat), second top-rated three-year-old filly in Europe in 2003.
She has a 2020 filly by Expert Eye in training with Beckett called Jalapa.