Aidan O’Brien looks to have yet another star Galileo filly on his hands in the shape of Kissed By Angels who got off the mark in fine style with a clear-cut success in the Group 3 Derrinstown Stud 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday.
Runner-up in a maiden event on her debut at Limerick last month, the daughter of Galileo could hardly have been more impressive win beating Devonshire and Stormfly, who herself is a already a Group 3 winner.
O’Brien said, “She has made good progress and improved a lot from her first run. I was a bit disappointed with her at Limerick, where she didn’t know what to do.
“Hopefully she'll keep making progress from each run.”
Kissed By Angels is the first foal of the 2010 Group 1 Coronation Stakes and Group 1 Matron Stakes winner Lillie Langtry who also has a two-year-old and a yearling by Galileo.
The mare is a half-sister to Listed scorer Count Of Limonade, now racing in Australia.
• THE Ken Condon-trained Success Days continued his upward curve and landed an easy 10 length win in the Group 3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday.
Owned by Hong Kong-based Robert Ng and bred by him and Dermot Farrington, Success Days made all the running under Shane Foley and trounced Summaya to add to last month’s G3 Ballysax Stakes win.
Condon said, “I have always said he’s an undemonstrative colt but he’s improving quickly. He is very relaxed and has the temperament to keep improving. He obviously needs to but he keeps delivering.
“The Irish Derby is on the agenda. We will see how the Dante works out and, if it came up soft, we would have to give serious consideration to supplementing him for Epsom.
“If it doesn’t, I would be happy to sit and wait for the Irish Derby.”
By the late Jeremy, Success Days was winning for the fourth time in just six starts.
• ONENIGHTIDREAMED continues to improve for trainer Tommy Stack and he added to his valuable success in the Irish Lincolnshire at the Curragh earlier in the season with a narrow success over Sruthan in the Group 3 Amethyst Stakes.
The gelded son of Coolmore Stud-sire Footstepsinthesand, the four-year-old was bred by Brian O’Neill and was winning for the third time in just five starts.
He was sold at the Goffs November Foal Sale for €14,000 and is one of two winners from the first three foals out of the Pivotal mare Pivotalia, a winning daughter of the French Listed-placed Viscaria.
Her dam, the Listed-placed Zivania was responsible for no less than ten winners, including the Group winners and sires Ivan Luis and Stagelight and Listed winners Zero Problemo and Amathia..
• GILLTOWN Stud resident Sea The Stars enjoyed his first stakes winner in the Southern Hemisphere when the Irish-bred import Tall Ship sailed to victory in the Listed Warrnambool Cup last week.
It was the four-year-old’s fourth consecutive win in Australia for owners OTI Racing, having begun his career in the UK.
It was the second consecutive Irish-bred winner of the $200,000 Warrnambool Cup, Akzar having won the 2014 running for the same trainer Darren Weir.
Tall Ship is a son of Cheveley Park owned mare Magical Romance.
In Europe, Night Of Light gained her first stakes success and became Sea The Stars 13th stakes winner when battling strongly to win the Listed Prix Volterra at Chantilly.
Leading from start to finish, she held on by a nose and it was a much-deserved win having been placed three times at Group 3 level and sixth in last year’s Prix Marcel Boussac.
She is a half-sister to multiple Listed-placed and ten-time winner Roatan and Listed winner and Group 3-placed Maria Gabriella.