Magical makes it look easy in winning Alleged Stakes

Magical needed no tricks to win the first start of her 4-year-old season.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained filly, who made two-time Arc winner Enable work to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf by a half-length in her 3-year-old finale, easily won the Group 3 Alleged Stakes on Saturday at Naas in Ireland. Magical stalked the pace of stablemate Flag of Honour under Ryan Moore, was tipped wide 1 1/2 furlongs from the finish and made short work of a decent field while under only mild pressure. Her margin of victory over a yielding course was four lengths.

Flag of Honour, who wants more distance than this, held second as the Joseph O’Brien-trained Latrobe, back from world travels last year, ran on solidly to finish third.

Magical is by Galileo and out of Halfway to Heaven, by Pivotal, and she really came around partway through 2018, scoring her best win in the QIPCO Champion Fillies and Mares in October. From all appearances Saturday, her late-3-year-old form has held, and Magical ought to be a major force in major early-season races.

O’Brien mentioned the Prix Ganay and the Mooresbridge Stakes as possible next starts, with the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup a near-term major goal.

Mohaather earns Guineas start in Greenham

Mohaather probably ran his way into the English 2000 Guineas with a flashy win Saturday at Newbury in the Group 3 Greenham Stakes over a straight seven furlongs.

Trained for Hamdan al Maktoum by Marcus Tregoning, Mohaather was a surprisingly effective winner in two of three starts last year at 2 and started his 3-year-old campaign with a 9-2 Greenham tally. A compact colt who almost certainly doesn’t want to go any farther than the one-mile trip of the Guineas, Mohaather tracked the pace and accelerated encouragingly under Jim Crowley to post a three-quarter-length win over Great Scot.

Urban Icon was third as favorites Hello Youmzain and pacesetting Boitron finished fourth and fifth.

Mohaather is by Showcasing and out of Roodeye, by Inchinor, and he was timed Saturday over good-to-soft ground in 1:26.89, nearly two seconds faster than the 3-year-old filly Dandhu’s winning clocking one race earlier in the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes.

Dandhu, Gerard Mosse riding for trainer David Elsworth, came out on top of a three-horse blanket finish with Iconic Choice and So Perfect. The favored Dancing Vega came under pressure a long way out and finished a flat 12th. Dandhu, a winner in two of five starts, is by Dandy Man and out of Poldhu, by Cape Cross.

• In France, the 3-year-old Big Brother’s Pride, a son of Invincible Spirit and the Green Tune mare Polygreen, won the 5 1/2-furlong, Group 3 Prix Sigy by four lengths in a dominant performance at Chantilly.