 |
|
| Staff Writer |
 |
Bedtime Story made a strong start on the fifth day of Royal Ascot by winning the Listed Chesham Stakes by a huge margin of nine and a half lengths.
A daughter of Frankel and Gr.1 Nunthorpe Stakes winner Mecca’s Angel, gave Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore their sixth win of the meeting.
Pentle Bay, trained by George Boughey and bought for £400,000 by Teme Valley Racing & Ciaron Maher, finished second, followed by Brian from Sylvester Kirk’s stable.
Bedtime Story's stable-mate Fairy Godmother also delivered an impressive performance in the Gr.3 Albany Stakes, making both fillies strong contenders for next year’s QIPCO 1,000 Guineas.
O’Brien said: “We never let Bedtime Story go before. This was the first time she was asked to stretch. Ryan said he couldn’t believe it; he said everyone fell away, he said ‘go on’, and she just took off. He didn’t even give her a slap down the shoulder.
“We thought she was probably a Group One filly, but we hadn’t looked – thinking is one thing and seeing is another, so everyone saw it together today. It was the first time she was ever dropped down, really.”
Asked how she compares to Fairy Godmother, O’Brien said: “They haven’t ever worked together. We treated her gently. She’s got an unbelievable pedigree, she’s a homebred. She’s very special, isn’t she?
“The lads are great and they never put anyone under pressure, so we didn’t have to look. We felt she had done enough to come here for her second run, and it’s a lovely way to be.
Asked how they will keep Bedtime Story and Fairy Godmother apart, O’Brien said: “There are plenty of races for them all I think. Bedtime Story will be staying at seven furlongs.
“It is unusual on fast ground to do that [win by so far]. She was very impressive when she won first time. We had another filly in it and she got banged off at the rails, and this one won nicely; there were obviously some nice fillies in it.”
Moore said: “Bedtime Story is a very good filly. She travelled very easy and they've gone too slow for her really. I had room at the three, so we started going forward and the race was over very quickly. She is a level above all of them. A performance like that, you don't see normally.”
When asked about comparisons with Fairy Godmother, he added: “It is a hard one. They haven't really been asked to do too much at home. We don't know a whole lot about them and we don't know what they've beaten yet, but they are two very exciting fillies.”
Winning co-owner Derrick Smith said: “I asked Ryan if Bedtime Story was as good as she looked and he said 'absolutely'. You can't get better than that. They don't win like that here. I am speechless really.”
Michael Tabor added: “We expected Bedtime Story to win, but you never expect an animal to win the way it did. Unfortunately for Godolphin, the second in [Age Of Gold], which we thought was the obvious danger, was never going well. So, I thought, in-running, that we would win. To win by nine or ten lengths is incredible, though. Her and Fairy Godmother were both spectacular."
Pentle Bay’s trainer George Boughey said: “The winner looks a superstar – she’s by a champion, out of a champion. I expected Pentle Bay to run as he did today. He has shown plenty at home and did the race the right way round, which was really key – it’s really key for him to relax. He’s a horse with a big future.
“Teme Valley are big supporters of the yard – now more than ever. We’ve had some nice horses for them. Ciaron Maher and his team are going to have a really fun horse when he does get down to Australia.
“He’s still very raw. I think a race that stands out immediately is probably the Vintage at Goodwood. Not many New Bays feature this early in the season. He’s out of a Galileo mare and the pedigree would suggest that he’s going to be a miler, possibly a 10-furlong horse.”
Tom Marquand said of Pentle Bay: “I think we can probably count ourselves the winner of one race, and Ryan was the winner of the other! He’s obviously run massive and bumped into an extremely good horse.”
Brian’s jockey Liam Keniry said: “Brian was a very cheap horse. He’s a lovely horse and tries very hard. We are delighted with how he ran.”
1st- Bedtime Story (Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor) Aidan O’Brien / Ryan Moore
2nd- Pentle Bay (Teme Valley & Ciaron Maher) George Boughey / Tom Marquand
3rd- Brian (T Lock & partner) Sylvester Kirk / Liam Keniry