The distance of the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes was increased from six furlongs to seven furlongs in 1992 and, since then, its roll of honour includes an array of stars.
Leading miler Sayyedati won it that year and Tarascon (1997), Again (2008), Misty For Me (2010), Sky Lantern (2012) and Minding (2015) have joined her on the list of subsequent classic heroines. Group 1 Coronation Stakes scorer Rizeena won it in 2013, the 1993 winner Lemon Souffle went on to take the Group 2 Falmouth Stakes, a race that carries Group 1 status nowadays, and each of Quarter Moon (2001), Saoirse Abu (2007) and Maybe (2011) went on to be placed in at least one classic after their Curragh juvenile success. Time will tell if Intricately can add her name to that notable collection of top fillies, or if she will join those for whom the race remained a career highlight, but with her pedigree and connections there is every reason to hope that she can take her place among the best of her class in 2017. The story of Intricately's big win is one of almost fairytale quality, not that this makes an upward progression by the horse any more or less likely, but it was remarkable family success. She is a first major winner for the 23-year-old former champion jockey and now rookie trainer Joseph O'Brien, she was ridden by his 18-year-old brother Donnacha, and she was bred by their mother, Annemarie, under the hugely successful name of Whisperview Trading Ltd. And, for good measure, the filly she short-headed was Hydrangea, trained their father, Aidan. Intricately, who carries the well-known colours of Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez, sprang a 33/1 surprise in a Gowran Park maiden in mid-June, beating Sir Edwin Landseer by one and a quarter lengths on ground described as yielding-to-soft. A month later she finished third in the Group 3 Silver Flash Stakes on fast ground at Leopardstown, beaten one and a quarter lengths and a nose by Promise To Be True and Take A Deep Breath, and then finished that same distance behind Hydrangea when the pair were second and third to Rhododendron in the Group 2 Debutante Stakes at the Curragh in August. All of her races have been over seven furlongs, she is very closely related to a famous miler, but is by Australian champion sire Fastnet Rock (by Danehill) and out of a Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) mare, which would suggest that she may have prospects of staying 10 furlongs, and possibly the Oaks distance. Fastnet Rock shuttles to Coolmore Stud, his eldest European offspring are five years old, and those northern hemisphere-born runners include the Group 1 stars Diamondsandrubies, Fascinating Rock and Qualify as well as Group 2 scorers Cougar Mountain, One Foot In Heaven, Rivet and Turret Rocks. His overall career tally of 97 individual stakes winners includes 24 who have won at least once at the highest level, and although he was a champion sprinter, he has sired many who excel at anywhere from a mile to 12 furlongs, including classic stars in England, Australia and in New Zealand. Intricately is the first foal out of Inner Realm (by Galileo), a mare whose racing career consisted of a pair of unplaced finishes in late-season 10-furlong maidens as a three-year-old, one on heavy ground at the Curragh and the other on soft ground at Navan. She has no yearling, she was bred to Holy Roman Emperor (by Danehill) in 2015, and she is related to two famous individuals. Inner Realm was the final foal of Offshore Boom (by Be My Guest), produced when the mare was 23 years old and after a gap of three years. She was a June 30th foal, so it's no surprise that her career started much later than that of her daughter. Her eight successful siblings include the prolific Turkish scorer D'Articleshore (by Definite Article) and the pattern-placed Nell Gwyn (by Danehill), but all of their achievements are dwarfed by those of their star brother, Rock of Gibraltar (by Danehill), who the O'Briens also bred. A star juvenile who won the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, Group 1 Grand Criterium, Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes and Group 3 Railway Stakes, Rock of Gibraltar extended his run of consecutive Group 1 wins to seven before losing out by three-parts of a length to Domedriver in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Arlington on his final start. He beat Hawk Wing in the 2000 Guineas, added the Irish 2000 Guineas, the St James's Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes, and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. The one who chased him home at Ascot was the ill-fated classic winner and Grade 1 star Landseer, Noverre was the runner-up at Goodwood, and he beat Banks Hill by half a length in France. Now aged 17, Rock of Gibraltar is a leading member of the stallion team at Coolmore Stud, he has shuttled to Australia and to Chile, he did one season in Japan, and his tally of 113 stakes winners includes 14 who have won at least once at the highest level. They include Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Samitar, Coral Eclipse Stakes scorer and successful sire Mount Nelson, star sprinter Society Rock (first yearlings in 2016) and the classic-placed Group/Grade 1 winners Eagle Mountain and Prince Gibraltar. They also include a trio of Chilean-bred horses who, in the past two months, have won at the highest level in their native land. The most recent is 10-furlong Grade 1 success of Brillo De Sol, whose big win came last Sunday, and the others are Admiral and Cascada Surena, who won their country's equivalent of the 2000 Guineas and 1000 Guineas respectively on 31st July. No stallion is guaranteed to become a sire of Group 1 winners, but just before Rock of Gibraltar's first foals were due to appear in the sales ring in November 2004 I wrote, in The Irish Field, that “it is hard to envisage him failing to make the grade” and that “he promises to make a considerable impact in his second career.” The reasoning behind those remarks was that he was by a stallion who already had eight sons with at least one Group 1 winner to their names, his large first book included a string of Group 1-winning mares, Group 1 producers, and those who were related to top horses, and, in addition to all of this, he had the added attraction of being out of a half-sister to the classic and multiple Group 1 star Riverman (by Never Bend), a hugely influential sire. Riverman won the Prix Yacowlef at two, he added the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas), the Prix Jean Prat and the Prix d'Ispahan, finished third in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and then rounded off his career with an honourable second in the Champion Stakes, again beaten by the Timeform 144-rated great Brigadier Gerard. Timeform rated Riverman 131 and had Rock of Gibraltar on 133. In terms of stallion figures, Riverman still leads his younger relation, and although his career total of 22 Group/Grade 1 winners will take a bit of catching, it seems likely that Coolmore's horse will beat Riverman's tally of 125 individual stakes winners before too long. So, how far beyond a mile might Intricately stay in 2017? Riverman was Group 1-placed at the trip, Rock of Gibraltar was never asked to go beyond a mile, and both have sired sprinters, milers, middle-distance horses and some who stay farther. Offshore Boom got her blacktype at two and the mare's unbeaten and stakes-winning half-sister Outside Pressure (by Shernazar) got both her wins over 10 furlongs. Offenbach (by Danehill), out of a Shirley Heights (by Mill Reef) half-sister to Offshore Boom, got his Australian Group 3 success over 10 and a half furlongs, and Deploy Venture (by Deploy) – out of another of her siblings, Tasseled (by Tate Gallery) – won a 12-furlong handicap and finished fifth in the Ebor (14 furlongs) before becoming a Grade 1-placed Grade 3 scorer in the United States. If Intricately has inherited something of the speed of her sire and dam's pedigrees then she may find 10 furlongs to be at or beyond the boundary of her ideal range. But if she has got the middle-distance factor from either side of the family, then her prospects of getting the Oaks trip are promising. Her official handicap mark rose from 104 to 110 after her Group 1 success, and although that is some way short of what would be required to win at the highest level next year, hers is a pedigree that suggests improvement from two to three is likely. It will be fascinating to see how her racing career turns out, and with her relationship to Rock of Gibraltar and Riverman, she could have a very bright future ahead of her at stud in the 2020s. Comments are closed.
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