The 2020 Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1) was unconventional in many respects, although not in its outcome. Magical was sent off a red-hot 2-9 favorite to secure back-to-back wins in the mile-and-a-quarter Curragh contest July 26, and she did not disappoint.

She might not have been as flamboyant as she had been on her Alwasmiyah Pretty Polly Stakes (G1) reappearance, or when running out a seven-length winner of this race in 2019, but she was utterly professional.

With the coronavirus quarantine restrictions keeping Ryan Moore at Ascot and Seamie Heffernan—who did the steering over course and distance 28 days earlier—suspended, it fell to Wayne Lordan to ensure the brilliant 5-year-old’s latest assignment went to plan.

Lordan, riding Magical for just the second time, was not going to be a hostage to fortune. He promptly went about setting the fractions to suit himself, with Buckhurst and Leo de Fury tracking him.

As they swung into the straight with less than half a mile to run, Lordan gradually began to wind up his mount. While Magical did not conjure anything particularly spectacular, the chasing duo could not live with her when Lordan gave her a couple of flicks a furlong out.

Aidan O’Brien’s daughter of Galileo scored by 2 1/4 lengths as Sir Dragonet and Search For A Song, who sat together in the rear early on, came through to pick up the pieces in second and third, with Armory keeping on for fourth.

In a season being lit up by Magical, her nemesis Enable, and stablemate Love, the Curragh’s decision to have Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” as the soundtrack for her walk back in was apt. As another of racing’s marquee events took place without a paying customer in sight, that at least made for a fleeting, if contrived, relief from the sterility of sporting life as we now know it. 

“She is a great mare,” O’Brien said on the phone subsequently, missing out here due to a two-week suspension following his COVID-19 breach on the night of the Tattersalls Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1). “The only reason she is here now is because of the progress she made over the winter, and she had progressed again from the Pretty Polly, so we are delighted the lads kept her in training.”

This was O’Brien’s ninth win in the race and Magical’s sixth at the highest level. With Love being aimed at a Knavesmire showdown with Enable in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks (G1), the Juddmonte International (G1) could be next for Sunday’s dominant heroine, although she could wait for the Irish Champion Stakes (G1), which she also won in 2019.

“She might get a little bit of an easy time of it now, but the options would be the Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion Stakes,” O’Brien said. “She could wait for the Irish Champion, but we’ll see.”

Lordan previously rode Magical in the 2018 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1), in which she could yet cross swords with Enable once more. Paddy Power was among the bookmakers to leave her unchanged at 14-1 for the autumn ParisLongchamp feature, although Unibet opted to trim her to 12-1 from 16.

“It’s a treat to get a ride on a filly like her,” Lordan beamed. 

Of the less emphatic style of victory compared to her Pretty Polly rout, he added: “She zinged along in front last time. Today she was a little bit more relaxed, and I’d say that was the only difference. I felt if anyone was going to get to me, it was going to help me. From the minute you sit on her until you get off her, she feels like she has a presence. She is a high-quality filly.”

Look for Flying The Flag’s progeny at the upcoming National Yearling Sale. 

-extract bloodhorse.com

Watch the race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hvD7W4ECR8

The feature event on Champions Day was Magical’s ninth start of the season, just a fortnight after finishing fifth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and while the decision to switch the race to the hurdles track meant that the going was soft rather than heavy, it was still demanding enough to suck the enthusiasm from any horse sensing the end of a long campaign.

Magical, though, never looked likely to yield her lead after hitting the front under Donnacha O’Brien more than a furlong out. Addeybb stayed on to finish a three-quarter length second, with the Japanese mare Deirdre, back in third. It was the fourth Group One win of her career and even now, Magical may not be done for the season as a return to the Breeders’ Cup meeting for the Filly & Mare Turf is under serious consideration.

“She’s totally sound, mentally and physically,” O’Brien said. “Her mind is incredible. I think a mile-and-a-quarter is her ideal trip, but she gets a mile-and-a-half because of her class.

“The Arc was a strongly run race and she has come out of that and won here. She handles ease in the ground, she goes on fast ground, what can you say? The lads [in the Coolmore syndicate] will decide if we go to the Breeders’ Cup with her [but] if you asked her, she’d be delighted.”

Magical was a close second behind Enable in the Turf last year and would face another stern opponent in Chad Brown’s Grade One-winner Sistercharlie, the defending champion in the Filly & Mare Turf, if she heads to Santa Anita on 2 November. She is top-priced at 11-4 to round off her season with an extra flourish, while Sistercharlie is a 9-4 chance.

Magical’s win put the seal on an excellent afternoon for Donnacha O’Brien, who took over aboard his father’s main runners on the card after Ryan Moore, the stable jockey, made the long trip to Australia for an ultimately fruitless attempt to win a valuable race in Sydney overnight.

Flying The Flag’s first crop are now unraced 2yo’s and he has three lots on offer at the upcoming Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale.

Flying The Flag stands at Bush Hill Stud.

-extract guardian.com

Flying The Flag’s younger full sister, already a Gr1 winner, added the Gr3 Alleged Stakes this afternoon at Naas to her impressive winners honour roll. It is the fifth victory in this race for trainer Aiden O’Brien who also trained Flying The Flag.

She left the colts behind her, with Gr1 Irish St Leger winner Flag Of Honour finishing second, and Gr1 Irish Derby winner Latrobe in third, making easy work of the soft turf to win by over four and a half lengths.

Magical is a full sister as well to three time Gr1 winner and Cartier Horse Of The Year, Rhododendron.

Magical won the British Champions Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes (Gr 1)like her older sister, in 2018, as well as the Kilboy Estates Stakes (Gr 2), with the Debutante Stakes (Gr 2) in 2017.

She also placed close seconds in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Turf (Gr 1) to the great Enable by under a length, and a whisker second in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (Gr 1) to Happily.

Warwick and Karin Render’s Bush Hill Stud, the breeders of such G1 winners as Wolf Whistle, Stellite and Zirconeum, will be offering a top-class draft at the 2019 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale this April.

Bush Hill’s 12 strong draft includes yearlings by such proven G1 producing sires as Var, Oratorio, and Pathfork, as well as youngsters from the first crops of exciting stallions Flying The Flag, Coup De Grace and Willow Magic.

Resident sire, the impeccably red Galileo horse Flying The Flag, has four yearlings from his eagerly awaited first crop included in the Bush Hill Stud National Sale draft. The own brother to G1 winners Rhododendron and Magical is responsible for a colt (Lot 276) whose 5 time winning dam is a ½ to G1 performer She’s A Dragon, a filly (Lot 284) out of G2 The Fillies Nursery third Ashjaan, a half-brother (Lot 494) to Listed Michaelmas Handicap hero King Neptune, and a colt (Lot 502) whose G3 placed dam is a 5 time winning half-sister to Caradoc Gold Cup winner Chico Azul.

Var, the sire of more than 20 G1 horses thus far, is represented here by a filly (Lot 94) out of Fillies Guineas winner Go Indigo –a half-sister to a stakes winner by Var, while Var’s triple G1 winning stablemate Oratorio is the sire of a colt (Lot 259) whose dam was a stakes placed winner of four.

Crusade and Pathfork, both G1 winners at two, are both represented in the draft –Crusade colt Westminster (Lot 272) is a half-brother to 3 winners notably dual G3 Spring Spree Stakes second Angel’s Power, while Pathfork has a colt (Lot 526) out of G1 Thekwini Stakes runner up Silent Call.

Talented G2 The Debutante winner Tempted is represented in the Bush Hill draft by a colt (Lot 232) by triple G1 winner Jackson, while Tapit’s multiple graded stakes winning son Coup De Grace has a first crop son (Lot 314) out of Pretty Polly Stakes third place-getter Carina Coleman.

Another young sire with members of his first crop in this draft is Dubawi’s G1 SA Nursery winning son Willow Magic. The latter has a filly (Lot 429) out of G3 Magnolia Handicap winner and prolific producer Lee Danzig, while the latter’s daughter Millenium Reign also has a filly (Lot 448) by Willow Nursery on offer.

The 2019 National Yearling Sale is set to be held at the TBA complex in Germiston from April 24th to 26th and the catalogue can be viewed online at www.bsa.co.za.

Coolmore recently announced that Flying The Flag’s dam will once again visit Galileo for the 2018 season – its a pedigree cross that has excelled, producing triple Gr1 winner Rhododendron, Gr2 winner Magical and international Group winner, Flying The Flag. 

Young Bush Hill Stud based stallion, Flying The Flag, is a horse with an impressive pedigree, and his family continues to enjoy success at major race meetings around the world, writes Sarah Whitelaw.

The chestnut is a son of the world’s premier stallion, Galileo, who is just one away from tying his legendary own sire Sadler’s Wells’ record of 73 individual Gr1 winners.

Galileo has had another solid season, if not one quite comparable to his very best previous years, with his major winners including Kew Gardens (Gr1 Grand Prix de Paris), Waldgeist (Gr1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud) and Forever Together (Investec Oaks).

Glorious

At the time of writing (August 2018), Galileo has been represented by 24 stakes winners in 2018, with his other notable winners including the impressive 2yo, Anthony Van Dyck (Gr3 Tyros Stakes). In addition, Galileo has had another bumper year with his sire sons producing the winners of such races as the Gr1 Investec Derby, Gr1 St James’s Palace Stakes, Gr1 Investec Coronation Cup, Gr1 Prix Jean Prat, Gr1 Prix Ganay, and Gr1 Doncaster Handicap. Remarkably, his sons Frankel, Nathaniel, Intello and Teofilo all enjoyed group success at Glorious Goodwood last week.

Galileo’s sons include the proven stallions New Approach, Frankel and Teofilo, as well as the hugely exciting younger sires Intello and Australia, with the latter responsible for a first crop group winner in the form of Beyond Reason (Gr3 Prix Six Perfections) and the former producing a Gr1 winner in his first crop, Intellogent (Prix Jean Prat). However, Flying The Flag’s appeal lies not only in the fact that he is a son of the world’s premier sire, but also that he hails from a tremendously powerful female line.

He is a full-brother to two group winners of 2018, and is also closely related to a very impressive recent group winning two-year-old, who could well feature in Gr1 contests later in the year.

Flying The Flag’s full-sisters Rhododendron and Magical further enhanced his pedigree page by landing the Gr1 Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes and Gr2 Kilboy Esate Stakes respectively in 2018.

The four-year-old Rhododendron, a Gr1 winner at two, three and four, has earned over £1 000 000 in stakes, while her talented year younger sister, Magical, was one of Ireland’s top two-year-old fillies in 2017, when she won the Gr2 Breast Cancer Research Debutante Stakes and finished second, beaten a short head, in the Gr1 Moyglare Stud Stakes. The trio of Flying The Flag, Rhododendron and Magical were produced by top class racemare, Halfway To Heaven, whose four victories included the 2008 Gr1 Irish 1000 Guineas.

Land Force

Out of top sprinter Cassandra Go (winner of the 2001 Gr2 King’s Stand Stakes under South African legend Michael Roberts), Halfway To Heaven is a half-sister to Gr3 Summer Stakes winner, Theann (by Rock Of Gibraltar).

The latter, a proven high class producer whose previous runners include Gr1 Rodeo Drive Stakes winner, Photo Call (a Galileo ¾ sister to Flying The Flag et al), made headlines at Goodwood last week when her son, Land Force (a first group winner for his sire No Nay Never) captured the Qatar Gr2 Richmond Stakes. Land Force could well add further glory to his increasingly successful family as he holds entries in numerous big race 2yo contests this season – notably the Gr1 Keeneland Phoenix and Gr1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes.

Land Force was not the only member from this potent family to strike at the 2018 Glorious Goodwood meeting.

Cross Counter (by Galileo’s unbeaten son, Teofilo) stamped himself a potential Melbourne Cup contender when he romped to a four and a half length win in the Gr3 Qatar Gordon Stakes at Goodwood on Saturday. The 3yo, who left Investec Derby runner up, Dee Ex Bee, in his wake, was produced by the stakes placed Kingmambo mare, Waitress, who shares her third dam, Rahaam, with Flying The Flag.

Read The Footnotes

Rahaam (Secreto) is also damsire of Coventry Stakes winner and successful sire, Verglas, while Rahaam’s own third dam, Native Street (Native Dancer) won the Kentucky Oaks.

The numerous top class performers descended from Native Street, herself dam of Florida Derby victor, Royal And Regal (Vaguely Noble), include short-lived Gr1 Gran Criterium winner, Pearl Of Love (Peintre Celebre), Gr1 winning sprinters, Dowsing and Stravinsky,  Fountain Of Youth Stakes winner and Gr1 sire, Read The Footnotes, and Gr3 Regal and Royal (Vaguely Noble), broodmare sire of Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner, Spain (Thunder Gulch).

The Native Street clan has also enjoyed success in South Africa, with the former Kentucky Oaks winner featuring as third dam of Gr1 SA Classic winning sire, Jam Alley (Peintre Celebre). This female line has clearly done well when mated with Nureyev and his sire /grandsire sons with this combination resulting in Stravinsky, Halfway To Heaven, Jam Alley and Pearl Of Love. Flying The Flag’s broodmare sire Pivotal was also in the news recently, when his son, Lightning Spear, captured the Gr1 Qatar Sussex Stakes last Wednesday to become his 28th individual Gr1 winner.

Pivotal, currently the Leading Broodmare Sire in Europe, has been represented by 12 top flight winners, notably triple Gr1 winner, Cracksman, the above mentioned Rhododendron, Cape sire, The United States, French classic winners, Olmedo and Precieuse, and English St Leger hero, Harbour Law.

-Sarah Whitelaw

*Flying The Flag stands at Bush Hill Stud for a fee of R20 000. His foals are very exciting, carrying outstanding quality, substance and size. Read more about his pedigree at the following link. 

“She’s a Group 1 winner at two three and four, over different trips and different ground and is very straightforward”

It was somehow one of the few to get away from world record-holder Aidan O’Brien last year but the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes was added to this year’s Group 1 roll of honour when Rhododendron, the full sister to Bush Hill Stud’s Flying The Flag, completed her redemption from a near-death experience in France just 11 months ago.

The master of Ballydoyle was also quickly moving on from his 300th Group 1 win, which was provided by Saxon Warrior in the 2,000 Guineas.

The Lockinge has proved elusive for the Coolmore team since Hawk Wing annihilated the field in 2003 and this second win was at the other end of the scale, as Rhododendron had a short-head to spare over last year’s runner-up Lightning Spear and beat a strong field of males.

O’Brien runners dictated the race, with Deauville striding on and Lancaster Bomber flanking him. Rhododendron was planted in the chasing pack.

Only Rhododendron and Lightning Spear could get past Lancaster Bomber and the pair produced the type of nip-and-tuck finish that Moore usually comes out on top of – although it was his first success in this race at the tenth attempt.

Paying tribute to the remarkable filly, Moore said: “She’s a Group 1 winner at two, three and four, over different trips and on different ground and is very straightforward.”

O’Brien took the opportunity to remember the darkest day for the daughter of Galileo, which was nearly a year ago in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly.

“She bled the worst I have ever seen. She exploded in the race and all the horses and jockeys were covered in her blood. I think may be it was the heat that day – it was 30 degrees at Chantilly.

“We were very worried for her – it is very rare for a horse to come back from something like that.”

That she recovered to win the Group 1 Prix de L’Opera on Arc weekend last year before finishing a gallant second in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar suggested she was made of something otherworldly.

Some may have questioned her remaining in training as she was swept aside by Cracksman over an extended mile and a quarter in France on her reappearance but all that did was get the Ballydoyle brains ticking.

O’Brien added: “The last day in France she travelled well through the race before John’s [Gosden] horse won well. She was going a step slower through the race than she wanted, she wanted to go a gear higher and that indicated she would be fine over a mile.”

That proved precisely the case but her Royal Ascot assignment could be either the Queen Anne over a mile, for which Paddy Power made her the 3-1 favourite (from 7-1), or the Prince Of Wales’s back over a mile and a quarter.

Ominously O’Brien added: “She is going to improve again – she hasn’t been on the grass gallop yet!”

The handsome chestnut stallion Flying The Flag stands for a fee of R20 000 and his first crop will be yearlings this August. Their younger full sister, Magical, won the Gr2 Debutante last year and finished a whisker off for 2nd in the Gr1 Moyglare to Happily.

-extract racingpost.co.uk

Flying The Flag’s youngest full sister Magical, will be looking to emulate her older full sisters race record after being entered to run in the Gr1 Fillies Mile tomorrow.

Magical has already won the Gr2 Debutante – won by Rhododendron in the previous year, and is Gr1 placed twice since then – in the Moyglare by the finest of margins.

Rhododendron is now holds two Gr1 wins to her name – the first the Gr1 Fillies Mile and more recently in France, after securing the Gr1 Prix Des L’Opera on Arc day. Magical finished fourth on the day in her Gr1 after encountering traffic problems.

Rhododendron was crowned Cartier Champion 2YO Filly in Ireland and her younger sister looks to be following in her footsteps.

Flying The Flag has been all the rage this season with his family frequenting the international news and his first crop of foals impressing breeders country wide.

The son of Galileo out of a five-time Gr1 winning Pivotal mare stands for a fee of R20 000 this season at Bush Hill Stud.

Its always good news when a stallion has a sibling entered for a Gr1, but to have two full sisters on one of the worlds most exclusive race days is certainly an astounding achievement in itself.

Flying The Flag’s Group winning full sisters – Rhododendron and the youngest Magical – will be competing in France on the day of the Arc De Triomphe.

Rhododendron, named Irelands Champion 2YO Filly in the previous season and a Gr1 winner, will contest the Prix de Lópera over 2000m for a stake of 400 000 Euros, whilst juvenile Magical, a recent winner of the Gr2 Debutante and second in a recent Irish Gr1 by a head to Happily, a horse she defeated in her Gr2 victory, will line up at the start of the Prix Marcel Boussac over 1600m.

Both Galileo fillies out of five time Gr1 winning Pivotal mare Halfway To Heaven, are trained by maestro Aiden O’Brien. Flying The Flag is a Group winner himself and placed at the Group Levels in both Europe and Dubai, as well as South Africa.

Flying The Flag’s first foals are arriving this season and they are of outstanding quality, with plenty of strength and muscle, substance and bone.

The chestnut son of Galileo stands at Bush Hill Stud for a fee of R20 000 this season.

Magical had beaten Happily into second and another Ballydoyle inmate September into fourth place when landing the Debutante Stakes over the course and distance a few weeks ago and looked likely to follow up after kicking clear in the hands of Ryan Moore.

A double for trainer Aiden O’Brien and sire Galileo with the first two past the post, Magical bred by Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt is a full sister to Irish 2YO Champion filly Rhododendron, a previous winner of the Gr2 Debutante and the Gr1 Fillies Mile.

Rhododendron competed in the Gr1 Matron Stakes on the same day, finishing four lengths off the winner Hydrangea, a horse she has defeated previously on two occasions in the Gr1 Fillies Mile and Gr2 Debutante Stakes.

Flying The Flag, closely related to American Gr1 winner Photo Call, is producing impressive foals with plenty of bone, impressive size and quality.

Flying The Flag stands for a fee of R20 000 this season.