Indigo Girl has big shot in Fillies' Mile
American owner Peter Brant won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Sottsass on Sunday at Longchamp, and the American owner George Strawbridge can win the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile Friday at Newmarket.
Strawbridge and trainer John Gosden send out Indigo Girl, one of three horses at roughly 3-1 for the one-mile, straight-course fixture for 2-year-old fillies. This is a major stepping-stone to the 1000 Guineas the following May, and the best Fillies’ Mile performers typically don’t come to America for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, but the race usually yields a Breeders’ Cup runner or two. Shale, one of the big three in the betting, already has been mentioned as a possible Juvenile Fillies Turf starter following her victory Sept. 13 in the Moyglare Stud Stakes, part of the BC Challenge series.
In the seven-furlong Moyglare Stud, Shale defeated heavily favored Pretty Gorgeous, who also is entered in the Fillies’ Mile and as of Friday was roughly the same price as Shale and Indigo Girl. Shale and Pretty Gorgeous ship to England from Ireland, the former for trainer Joseph O’Brien, the latter for trainer Jessica Harrington.
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Indigo Girl is a full sister to Journey, a Group 1 winner over 1 1/2 miles for these same connections in 2016. Indigo Girl has started her career with a pair of wins, both at one mile, the first at Yarmouth and more recently at Doncaster, where she beat eight rivals in the Group 2 May Hill Stakes.
Sottsass retired
There was initial speculation that Arc winner Sottsass could come to Keeneland for the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but that chance was mooted earlier this week when Sottsass’s retirement was announced. Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm campaigned Sottsass, but his breeding rights were sold to Coolmore this past winter and Sottsass now heads off to stud.
Sottsass, by Siyouni out of Starlet’s Sister, by Galileo – and thus a brother to American champion Sistercharlie – won the French Derby at age 3 and was third in the 2019 Arc.
◗ As of Wednesday, no decision had been announced regarding the status of 6-year-old mare Enable, who finished sixth Sunday in the Arc after failing to act on heavy, holding ground. Trainer John Gosden and Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah, left open the possibility Enable could start again this year, perhaps at Keeneland in a Breeders’ Cup race.