The market predicted an Aidan O’Brien winner for the seven-furlong Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday, but it was the second-string Lake Victoria who bounded to success under Wayne Lordan.
A narrow winner of a course and distance maiden on debut, Lake Victoria had delighted connections with a comfortable victory over Mountain Breeze in the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket's July course under jockey Sean Levey - who had enjoyed success aboard another Ballydoyle horse in Saturday's Group 1 St Leger. Yet despite her unblemished reputation, Lake Victoria was seemingly second string behind Bedtime Story, the mount of Ryan Moore, a nine-and-a-half-length victor of the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot.
With only five runners making up the Moyglare field, it was Bedtime Story who took them along in the early stages whilst Lake Victoria conceded valuable lengths by ducking left as she exited the stalls. Wayne Lordan looked to be in trouble with three furlongs to run, but Lake Victoria hit top gear when switched left and powered home in the final furlong to land a comfortable one-and-a-quarter length victory over Ollie Sangster's Simmering. Exactly finished third whilst Bedtime Story ended up last of the five.
In an interview with RTÉ, O'Brien said: "She's a very good filly. She won here the first day, she got to the front and was very green. Ryan said she got to the front way too early that day, but her pace took her there and she obviously still won.
"She went to Newmarket and Seanie (Levey) won on her and she won very impressively. She's a very classy filly.
"We thought she would be second to the other filly. Ryan's filly just hit the gates, he just couldn't get her back then and that was it. When that happens it's usually over.
"She'll be grand too, she's a little bit like her sister and we'll just go gentle and slow her down a little bit.
"It's always a worry after what she did in Ascot that could happen and we took it very gentle the next twice afraid it could happen but it still happened.
"We'll work another way out just to get her to go to sleep again. Wayne rides her out the whole time and he will do that.
"I'm delighted for Wayne. He's a great fella and he does a lot of work, day in day out at home.
"He's a great rider and we're so lucky to have him here after what happened in the Irish Derby. He went through a tough time for four or five months and nobody deserves it more. He's a world-class rider.
"It's a possibility the winner could go to the Cheveley Park. We ran her here with the thought in our head that she could be a Cheveley Park filly.
"We thought she'd be second to the other filly. She's a very fast filly and that was the plan. We took our time on her, let her relax, and didn't want to give her a tough race.
"Wayne gave her a brilliant ride. She's fast, she's by Frankel but she's made like a sprinter."
