Dubai: There was no dream start to Irish handler Willie McCreery’s association with Godolphin when Leading Actress could only finish seventh in the Group 3 Grangecon Stud Stakes at the Curragh, Ireland, on Saturday.
The two-year-old daughter of Makfi, Leading Actress was unable to find extra when asked for her effort by jockey Billy Lee and had to settle for a less than satisfactory position in the 1400-metre event. The contest was won in thrilling fashion by the Aidan O’Brien-trained I Am Beautiful, who scored by a shorthead from Jeanne Girl, while Ed Lynam’s Quinta Verde was a nose back in third.
Leading Actress was the first runner saddled by former Gaelic footballer-turned-racehorse-trainer McCreery’s for Godolphin. Meanwhile, the Saeed Bin Surour-trained True Story remains in contention for a shot at the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on Saturday. The Epsom Derby seventh is a 14-1 chance to give Bin Surour and Godolphin a fifth success in the high-quality contest and first since Refuse to Bend scored in 2004.
The ante-post favourite is 2012 Eclipse winning trainer John Gosden’s stable flag-bearer The Fugue, who heads the market a odds of 7-4, with Dubai-owned English 2,000 Guineas (G1) victory Night Of Thunder a 3-1 second favourite.
Richard Hannon Jr was looking forward to Night Of Thunder’s second start since he was beaten by Kingman in the St. james’s Palace Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot in June. “Kingman is very good and put us firmly in our place at Ascot, so rather than take him on again we are going up in trip,” Hannon Jr said.
“Night Of Thunder ran all the way to the line at Ascot and I walked off the stand convinced that it would be worth trying him over further, and when Hughesie [Richard Hughes, jockey] got off he was of the same opinion, as was Bruce Raymond, [owner Saeed Manana’s] racing manager, so we are giving it a go.”
