Son of Swettenham Stud shuttler Toronado lands Listed contest at Newmarket
The Andrew Balding-trained Tactical (3 c Toronado - Make Fast by Makfi) handed his owner Her Majesty The Queen a poignant winner on Wednesday as he opened his three-year-old account with a victory in the European Free Handicap (Listed, 7f) at Newmarket.
The son of Swettenham Stud shuttler Toronado (High Chaparral) won the Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed, 5f) at Royal Ascot on June 17, while he also took out the July Stakes (Gr 2, 6f) at Newmarket on July 9 last season.
The three-year-old colt stayed on bravely to beat the pre-race favourite Naval Crown (Dubawi) by a neck, while Ontario (Galileo) was another two and a half lengths away in third.
The victory comes just days after the death of the Queen’s husband Prince Philip and winning jockey Oisin Murphy was quick to pay tribute.
"Our thoughts are with the Queen and her family," Murphy told Racing TV. "He's clearly tough and he's a ball of muscle. He's trained well but he's not been off the bridle and hopefully he'll come on for this."
Tactical is out of a Listed-placed daughter of former Westbury Stud shuttler Makfi (Dubawi), who is herself out of Group 3 winner Raymi Coya (Van Nistelrooy).
Further back, the colt’s fourth dam is Grade 1 winner Try Something New (Hail the Pirates), who in turn produced German Group 2 winner Somethingdifferent (Forest Green).
Toronado’s 11 stakes winners are headed by this season’s William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Masked Crusader and he is one of six stakes winners for the stallion in Australia.
The smart Tactical weaves home in the royal silks in a poignant success in the @bet365 European Free Handicap at @NewmarketRace @oismurphy @AndrewBalding2 pic.twitter.com/RyhLpGvKr9
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 14, 2021
