Blue Bunting rallied from fifth in the final quarter-mile to win Sunday’s Group 1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh, her second major trophy of the year.
Blue Bunting won the English 1000 Guineas in May. In between, she finished fourth in the English Oaks, just missing third after jockey Frankie Dettori did not ride her to the wire. He was given a 10-day suspension for the incident.
Dettori made no such mistakes in deep stretch of the Irish Oaks.
Wonder of Wonders, the runner-up in the English Oaks last month, will be an odds-on favorite against a strong field in Sunday’s Group 1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh.
One of three runners in the race trained by Aidan O’Brien, Wonder of Wonders will be after her first group stakes win in the Irish Oaks, which is run over 1 1/2 miles on turf and is worth approximately $600,000.
O’Brien also starts the outsiders Amazing Beauty and Gemstone.
Neither Irish Derby winner Treasure Beach nor French Derby winner Reliable Man could produce his best form Thursday in the Grand Prix de Paris, and it was unheralded Meandre up late under Maxime Guyon to catch pacesetting Seville in the final furlong.
The undefeated Reliable Man will have three Aidan O’Brien-trained runners, headed by Irish Derby winner Treasure Beach, among his opponents Thursday in an appealing edition of the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.
Dream Ahead, the English joint champion 2-year-old of 2010 with the undefeated Frankel, gave jockey Hayley Turner her first win in a Group 1 race in Saturday’s July Cup at Newmarket, England.
Making his second start of 2011, Dream Ahead (7-1) rallied between horses through traffic to win by a half-length over Bated Breath. Star Witness, the 4-1 favorite, finished 10th of 16. Delegator, unplaced in the last two runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Mile, finished fifth.
Frederick Engels extended his stakes-winning streak to two races, and the mare Crystal Capella won her first career stakes against males in Group 2 stakes at Newmarket, England, on Thursday.
Frederick Engels, sent off at 7-4, won the six-furlong July Stakes by a length over 6-4 favorite Roman Emperor. Ridden by Eddie Ahern, Frederick Engels was always near the front and took the lead in the final furlong, holding off the favorite. Bannock finished third in the field of seven.
Delegator, unplaced in the last two runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Mile, may finally win the first Group 1 race of his career in Saturday’s July Cup for sprinters at Newmarket, England.
A 5-year-old horse owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing, Delegator is a lukewarm favorite for the July Cup, which is run over a straightaway six furlongs on Newmarket’s July course and has a purse of approximately $640,000.
Frederick Engels, the winner of the 24-runner Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 14, makes his group stakes debut against just seven rivals in Thursday’s Group 2 July Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings at Newmarket, England.
The July Stakes, worth approximately $96,600, is one of two Group 2 races on Thursday’s card, the first of the three-day July meeting at Newmarket that includes Friday’s Group 1 Falmouth Stakes for female milers and Saturday’s Group 1 July Cup for sprinters.
Mutual Trust remained unbeaten after four starts and won his first Group 1 race in the Prix Jean Prat for 3-year-olds at Chantilly, France, on Sunday.
Mutual Trust, ridden by Maxime Guyon, finished a head in front of Zoffany, the even-money favorite who finished a nose in front of pacesetter Strong Suit, in the one-mile race that was worth approximately $580,000.