Queen Of The Pride does parents proud with Lester Piggott triumph at Haydock

There was joy for Oisin Murphy as Queen Of The Pride scored in the Lester Piggott Stakes; Also, Iron Lion entered the reckoning for the Ebor after seeing off Knightswood.

Saturday 8 June 2024 16:39, UK

Queen Of The Pride understandably means a lot to her connections, so the fact she landed her first Group race in the Betfred Nifty 50 Lester Piggott Fillies’ Stakes at Haydock brought a great sense of satisfaction.

She wears the maroon colours of owner Sheikh Fahad's Qatar Racing, as did both her sire Roaring Lion and dam Simple Verse.

Roaring Lion was undoubtedly the best to carry the Qatar silks to date and just like Queen Of The Pride (9/2) he was trained at Clarehaven Stables in Newmarket.

At the time John Gosden was the only name on the licence, ably assisted by his son Thady, who now shares the main role.

Second in Listed company at Goodwood when showing signs of greenness for Robert Havlin, she was much more tractable this time under Oisin Murphy, who guided her to a short-head win over the fast-finishing Lady Boba.

Murphy said: "Both her parents were Group One winners so she means a lot to us.

"She's obviously been slow to come to hand, but she's been looked after and now we are reaping the rewards.

"She was definitely more straightforward today. It's only her fourth run after all. Rab said he thought she'd go very well today in a race with more pace on and nicer ground, less hard work.

"She was really easy to ride and I love the way she finished and galloped out."

He went on: "I think she'll get further, but whether she needs to go further than a mile and a half I don't know yet.

"When I was pulling up I was thinking of the Prix de Royallieu, the mile and six race on Arc weekend might be for her but I'm sure John, Thady and Sheikh Fahad can think about that."

The William Haggas-trained Sea Theme could finish only fourth as the handler aimed to win the race named after his late father-in-law for the third successive year.

Iron Lion enters Ebor reckoning

Iron Lion may have a crack at the Ebor in his sights having impressed in the Betfred 'Play Fred's £5 Million' Handicap at Haydock.

Trained by David O'Meara, the lightly-raced four-year-old travelled beautifully for Jamie Spencer before quickening up in fine style on his way to a one-length win.

Charlie Johnston's Knightswood could be considered slightly unfortunate, however, as he was all dressed up with nowhere to go for the majority of the final two furlongs before finally getting a run all too late behind the 5-1 winner.

Iron Lion is owned by Elwick Stud, whose stud manager Gary Moore said: "He's got quite a knee action and he really appreciated the rain that fell overnight.

"Good ground is good enough for him and we might think about the Ebor now. Jamie said he'll stay so we might go to Melbourne! We'll see what David says, he's the trainer.

"He's a nice horse, a real fine, big stamp. His sister (Lava Stream) runs tomorrow in a Listed race at Goodwood so that would be a nice family double.

"We've got 40 mares on 300 acres just between Durham and Newcastle. There are not many better jobs when you have days like this."