NEWS
Moonstone edges stablemate Ice Queen in Irish Oaks thriller
Posted: Sunday, July 13, 2008 4:54 PM
by Myra Lewyn
Moonstone earned the first victory of her career on Sunday at the Curragh when she unleashed a furious charge under Johnny Murtagh and wore down 66-to-1 longshot and stablemate Ice Queen to win the Darley Irish Oaks (Ire-G1) by the bob of her head.
Runner-up in the Juddmonte Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1) on June 6, Moonstone provided trainer Aidan O’Brien with his third straight win in the classic and 13th Group 1 victory of the season.
The British-bred Dalakhani filly was sent off the 2-to-1 favorite in the field of 14 that included five other fillies from O’Brien’s powerful Ballydoyle yard in County Tipperary. His runners dictated the tempo from the outset, with 200-to1 Perihelion gaining command early and Ice Queen and Moonstone tracking from third and fourth, respectively.
Michael Tabor’s Irish Group 3 winner Ice Queen, who finished last in the Epsom Oaks, seized the lead two furlongs out under Colm O’Donoghue and set sail for the finish line, but Moonstone responded with an energetic rush at Murtagh’s perfectly timed cue and caught her stablemate on the line in a scintillating finish
Moonstone covered 1 1/2 miles in 2:34.37 on good turf.
O’Brien was elated with the finish.
“It’s another great race with two jockeys and two fillies giving it their all,” O’Brien told BBC Sport. He teamed with Murtagh to win last year’s Irish Oaks with Peeping Fawn and with Kieren Fallon to capture the race in 2006 with Alexandrova.
“It was a usual masterful ride from Johnny, and Colm gave his filly a great ride, too.”
Moonstone, campaigned by Susan Magnier, was making her fourth start following her second-place finish in the English equivalent, 3 3/4 lengths behind to Look Here, on June 6.
French Group 3 winner Gagnoa, runner-up in the Prix de Diane (Fr-G1) (French Oaks) on June 8, finished third, two lengths behind Ice Queen, for French-based trainer Andre Fabre and Tabor.
Bred by Britton House Stud, Moonstone is out of the stakes-placed winner Solo de Lune, by Law Society, a half sister to 2003 Darley Irish Oaks (Ire-G1) runner-up L’Ancresse (Ire) and Group 1 winner Cerulean Sky (Ire).
Myra Lewyn is a Thoroughbred Times Today editor
