Pinatubo steals the show on Irish Champions Weekend

The turf sprinter Fairyland and 2-year-old filly Love earned fees-paid berths to Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita on Nov. 1-2 after winning Group 1 races on an outstanding program at the Curragh in Ireland on Sunday.

The star of the program, however, was the 2-year-old colt Pinatubo, who remained unbeaten after five starts with a win in the Group 1 National Stakes for colts and fillies.

Pinatubo, ridden by William Buick, won the seven-furlong race by nine lengths over the Group 2 winner Armory (10-3). Pinatubo (1-3) closed from fifth to take the lead in the final furlong.

Owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing and trained by Charlie Appleby, Pinatubo, by Shamardal, has won three consecutive stakes. The Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse on Oct. 12 is an early autumn goal, Appleby said.

Love, by Galileo, closed from third in a field of nine to win the $443,040 Moyglare Stud Stakes for 2-year-old fillies by three-quarters of a length over 13-8 favorite Daahyeh. Love (6-1) was ridden by Ryan Moore for trainer Aidan O’Brien, who also finished third with 16-1 So Wonderful.

Love earned a fees-paid berth to the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 1, although it was unclear on Sunday whether she would be sent to California.

Owned by the Coolmore partnership, Love has won 3 of 6 starts with the wins coming in her last four starts. Love won the Group 3 Silver Flash Stakes at Leopardstown in her stakes debut on July 25.

O’Brien said Love is a candidate for the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket on Oct. 11, while trainer Roger Varian said the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf is a possibility for Daahyeh, who won the Group 3 Albany Stakes against 24 rivals at Royal Ascot in June.

O’Brien swept the exacta in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes at five furlongs with two 12-1 shots – Fairyland and So Perfect. Fairyland, ridden by Moore, took the lead in the final furlong and won by a short head over So Perfect, who was ridden by Donnacha O’Brien, O’Brien’s son.

Soffia, the 13-8 favorite, finished fifth, beaten 2 3/4 lengths.

With the win in the $443,040 Flying Five Stakes, Fairyland earned a fees-paid berth to the BC Turf Sprint at five furlongs on Nov. 2, a race O’Brien said will be considered along with the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris on Oct. 6.

Fairyland, a 3-year-old filly by Kodiac, has won five of 12 starts for the Coolmore partnership and Evie Stockwell. The Flying Five Stakes was Fairyland’s first win this year and her seventh start, all in Group 1 races. Last year, Fairyland won the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Newmarket.

The 3-year-old filly Search For A Song recorded a 10-1 upset in the day’s richest race, the Group 1 Irish St. Leger, which was run at 1 3/4 miles and was worth $664,560. Trained by Dermot Weld, Search For A Song won by 2 3/4 lengths over 7-2 Kew Gardens, trained by O’Brien.

Cross Counter, the winner of the Group 1 Melbourne Cup in Australia last November, finished fourth as the 3-2 favorite, beaten two lengths.

Search For A Song, who was ridden by Chris Hayes for Moyglare Stud Farm, has won 3 of 5 starts. By Galileo, Search For A Song was fourth in the Group 1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh in June and won a minor stakes at York Racecourse in England in August, the Galtres Stakes at 1 1/2 miles.