Babouche completes red-letter day for Ger Lyons at the Curragh
By Sporting Life
15:38 · SUN July 21, 2024
Hot favourite Babouche was made to pull out all the stops to maintain her unbeaten record in the Jebel Ali Racecourse And Stables Anglesey Stakes at the Curragh.
The daughter of Kodiac had made a huge impression when justifying cramped odds on her introduction at Cork last month and was the 13/8 market leader to complete a quickfire double on the card for owners Juddmonte, trainer Ger Lyons and jockey Colin Keane following Red Letter’s triumph in the opener.
After initially being sandwiched shortly after the start, Babouche was soon travelling strongly as Treasure Isle blazed a trail for the first half of the six-and-a-half-furlong Group Three.
Babouche moved up stylishly as the pacesetter started to falter, but was then challenged by Aidan O’Brien’s Camille Pissarro, who was looking to bounce back from a disappointing effort when favourite for the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot last month.
No quarter was given by either horse or rider in the final furlong, but it was Babouche who stuck her neck out where it mattered, with half a length the winning margin.
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Lyons said: “She’s a filly we’ve always liked and has a temperament to die for. She’s become more switched off since she ran in Cork. It’s OK winning in Cork like we did, but we learned nothing because she did it all on her own, with the way the race was run.
“She got mashed out of the stalls there, then had to do it the hard way and then got to the front and parked and looked around.”
Babouche now looks set for a step up to Group One level, with her trainer adding: “Maybe she’ll improve and she needs to improve if we’re going to keep going forward. We’ll see how she comes out of it, but at the minute we’re going to take on the boys in the Phoenix Stakes.
“She doesn’t show a whole pile at home since her run. Before her run we knew she was special, but since then she shows you nothing.
“I’ve always said that we’re winning our Listed, Group Threes and Twos, but for the Group Ones you need the temperament. That can be the final thing that you’re missing and she seems to have that.
“Her sister was a seven-furlong/mile filly and I can see her doing that. She’s going to be a Guineas filly – I’ll be training her for the Guineas.”
The aforementioned Red Letter had earlier confirmed debut promise with her dominant victory in the Sycamore Lodge Equine Hospital Irish EBF Fillies Maiden.
The Frankel filly was beaten just a head by the O’Brien-trained Lake Victoria on her racecourse introduction over the course and distance three weeks ago and was an 8/11 favourite to go one better.
Odds-on backers will have had few concerns for the duration of the seven-furlong contest, with Red Letter soon bowling along at the head of affairs and quickening up smartly from the front to score comfortably by just over four lengths from 50/1 shot Indigo Dream.
Ballet Slippers, a first runner out of O’Brien’s seven-time Group One-winning mare Magical, also shaped with plenty of encouragement on her first competitive outing in third.
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Of the winner, Lyons said: “It was no more than you probably expected from her after seeing her on debut the first day. She stepped forward nicely and you’d expect her to win her maiden that way, so we’re delighted.
“We’ll see how she comes out of it before making any plans. I think it’s just raw ability at the moment, I don’t think she’s a two-year-old and I think it’s all about next year with her.
“We’ll let her tell me what we do with her. I’ll tell Barry (Mahon, owners’ racing manager) what I’m seeing at home and discuss it with the (Abdullah) family about whether we come back for the Moyglare or something like that.
“She’s done a lot quick, we are only in the middle of July. She looked raw going down to the start and it’s pure ability what you are seeing out there.”
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