Porta Fortuna supplemented her determined victory at Royal Ascot with a dominant display in the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket.
A Group One winner at two in the Cheveley Park Stakes, Donnacha O’Brien’s filly kicked off her Classic campaign by finishing second to Elmalka in the 1000 Guineas on the Rowley Mile before comprehensively reversing that form to land the Coronation Stakes at the Royal meeting last month.
Having now fully proven her once questioned stamina over the mile, Porta Fortuna was the 10/11 favourite to claim a third top-level win on the July Course and stamped her authority against her elders in no uncertain terms under Ryan Moore.
Running Lion, winner of the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot, set out to make all the running in the hands of Oisin Murphy, while Porta Fortuna initially sat perfectly positioned in her slipstream.
However, Running Lion weakened quickly with more than two furlongs still to race, which perhaps left Porta Fortuna in front sooner than Moore, deputising for Tom Marquand who was required to ride at York, would have liked.
But it made little difference to the result, as the further O’Brien’s filly went, the better she looked and she passed the post with three-and-three-quarter lengths in hand over the improving Jabaara, with Rogue Millennium and Irish 1,000 Guineas runner-up A Lilac Rolla dead-heating for third.
O’Brien said: “With any Group One, there’s always some pressure but she’s delivered. All the best three-year-olds were there, so it’s nice to see her go and do it again.
Porta Fortuna heads for home
“I don’t know what is next, we’ll take her home and have a think. I think it’s sensible to give her a little break now, then prepare her for the Matron (Leopardstown, Irish Champions Weekend), Sun Chariot and then Breeders’ Cup, something like that.
“I think the Filly & Mare is one-mile-three this year, if it was a mile-one, we’d be tempted to have a go, so it would probably be the Mile against the boys, which will be tough but all of her owners are American, so it would be nice for them, it’s always been the plan.
“She means a lot to me, you’re always trying to find one good one a year to take you to the Group Ones and she’s doing that.”
Moore, who partnered Porta Fortuna for the first time, added: “She’s a great filly and she has always shown plenty, she’s an Albany winner and a Cheveley Park winner who ran very well at the Breeders’ Cup after that.
“She ran well in the Guineas and then went and won the Coronation this year, she’s never run a bad race.
“She’s straightforward, I was fast out of the gates, we weren’t going mad but it was the perfect race really. She’s very uncomplicated and when you couple that with her ability, it makes things easy.
“The way she’s handled her contemporaries and the older fillies here, she’d have no trouble mixing with the boys.”
Varian was delighted with the performance of the runner-up and said: “She ran great, I’m thrilled with her.
“We sort of rolled the dice, she’d won two Listed races and I just thought this race always has a small field and if we could be third, it would be worth running. She’s ended up second, so we’re delighted.
“We’d have loved to have won but hats off to the winner, she’s top class and we were second best.
“She got the mile but I think she’s better at seven (furlongs), but she was ridden just to get the mile – over seven, she has a high cruising speed, she’s a filly with pace and James (Doyle) thought going into the dip she was going really well, but her guts and determination ground out second.
“As long as she comes out of it OK, we’d love to go to Goodwood for the Oak Tree and then see after that, as she’s had a busy summer. Maybe the Foret.”
Arabian Dusk gets off the mark in Duchess of Cambridge
Arabian Dusk came home best of all to shed her maiden tag at the third time of asking in the bet365-sponsored Duchess of Cambridge Stakes earlier on the card at Newmarket.
Although the daughter of Havana Grey had shaped with significant encouragement in finishing second on her Doncaster debut and third in the Listed Empress Stakes on her first two starts, she faced a rise in grade for this Group Two contest, with several fillies placed at Royal Ascot in opposition.
Impressive Carlisle winner Bountiful took the field along for much of the six-furlong contest, with Harry Davies not far behind aboard 12/1 shot Arabian Dusk as she sat on the tail of 15/8 favourite Heavens Gate, who had finished third behind stablemate Fairy Godmother in the Albany Stakes at Ascot.
As Bountiful’s early exertions began to take their toll late on, it was left to Arabian Dusk, Heavens Gate and the Albany fourth Mountain Breeze to fight out the finish, and Simon and Ed Crisford’s filly finished the strongest in the dying strides to prevail by three-quarters of a length.
The Crisfords were completing a quickfire double on the card following Involvement’s victory in the opening bet365 Handicap, which will undoubtedly give the team confidence ahead of stable star Vandeek’s bid for Group One glory in Saturday’s July Cup.
Of Arabian Dusk, Ed Crisford said: “On her first two runs she was very green, which she was entitled to be.
“We threw her into a Listed race on her second run and Sean (Levey) said she lost her position early just through greenness. That meant she was out the back and while she came with a good run, she just failed.
“It was quick ground that day and very hard to make ground on the leaders. Today we said to Harry to jump out and he gave her a beautiful ride, sat on Ryan’s (Moore) girths and she picked up really well coming up the hill to pull clear.
“It was a really pleasing effort, she’s an improving filly, a high-quality filly and she’s by a great stallion in Havana Grey, who is getting stronger and stronger. With Vandeek, I hope we can have a Havana Grey double!
“I think she would stay further but for now we’ll probably stick to six. She’s not in the Prix Morny but there’s that or the Lowther.”
Davies, who won the Chester Cup earlier this year on Zoffee, was thrilled to claim another big-race victory – his first at Group-race level.
He said: “I’m delighted to get the opportunity off Simon and Ed, the whole team at Gainsborough have worked so hard with this filly to keep her right, we’ve always had a lot of faith in her and thought she would go on to better things.
“She was unlucky the last day, being shuffled a bit further back, but she ran on really nicely. There was a little bit more give in the ground today and we wondered if that would enhance her chances, so to beat the O’Brien filly, she must be good.
“There are good times ahead. It’s a big moment for me but I have to thank Simon and Ed for the opportunity and Shaikh Duaij (owner) for having the faith in me, I feel very honoured.”
The winner was introduced into the betting for next year’s 1000 Guineas by Paddy Power at 25/1.
Involvement relishes step up in trip
A step up in class awaits Involvement after he justified 100/30 favouritism with the minimum of fuss in the bet365 Handicap to initiate a double for the Crisfords.
Involvement ran out the winner of the opener
Not disgraced in the Britannia at Royal Ascot last time out, he relished the extra two furlongs under Oisin Murphy.
Usually won by a decent prospect, the way Involvement moved through the gears before easing away from Royal Power to win by three-quarters of a length, suggests he is booked for bigger and better things.
Mr Monaco was another three-quarters away back in third, with Aidan O’Brien’s Chantilly disappointing.
Ed Crisford said: “He likes that ground, so Oisin just said maybe don’t run him on too quick a ground again, but certainly the step up in trip has brought about the improvement.
“He didn’t run a bad race at Ascot in the Britannia, when he was just in the middle group out the back. He made a good run and just couldn’t get there but he definitely showed that day he was ready to step up to 10 [furlongs].
“Today looked like a suitable option but you’ve always got to be a good horse to win this race and he galloped out really strongly.
“We’ll have to see what the handicapper does but I imagine that will be him out of handicap company now.”
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