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Porta Fortuna flies to Falmouth victory

Donnacha O'Brien's stable star made it back-to-back top-level victories with a straightforward success in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket on Friday.

PORTA FORTUNA winning the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket in England.
PORTA FORTUNA winning the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket in England. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

The ultra-consistent three-year-old claimed a first Group 1 victory in the Cheveley Park Stakes on the Rowley Mile last season before going on to finish a close-up second in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita.

A tilt at Newmarket's 1000 Guineas Stakes would be on the agenda for her three-year-old debut and Donnacha O'Brien's filly quickly proved she remained capable of mixing it with the very best when denied a neck by Elmalka.

The daughter of Caravaggio would face her Newmarket conqueror once more in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, but this time would be rewarded for her consistency, running out a commanding one-length winner under Tom Marquand.

With Marquand required to ride for his boss William Haggas at York, Ryan Moore was entrusted with doing the steering on the 10/11 market leader at Newmarket and in all truth, the Ballydoyle number one never really had a moment of doubt.

Impressive Duke Of Cambridge Stakes heroine Running Lion set out to make the running but the writing was soon on the wall for connections of the 4/1 chance as she faded tamely once coming under pressure. That left Porta Fortuna to take up the running and although she probably struck the front sooner than her rider would have liked, victory never really looked in doubt from there on in. A sparkling turn of foot saw her take a handful of lengths out of the field and although a closing group headed by Jabaara set off in hot pursuit, they never looked likely to catch the eventual winner, who eventually drew clear to land a third Group 1 victory by three- and three-quarter lengths.

Roger Varian's Jabaara narrowly grabbed the silver medal spot, with Rogue Millennium and Irish 1,000 Guineas runner-up A Lilac Rolla dead-heating for third.

"With any Group 1, there's always some pressure but she's delivered. All the best three-year-olds were there, so it's nice to see her go and do it again," said O'Brien.

Regarding further plans, O'Brien suggested a potential trip to the Matron Stakes could be on the cards, although the winning trainer was keen to stress, that they'd keep options open once assessing how she's come out of the race.

He said: "I don't know what is next, we'll take her home and have a think. I think it's sensible to give her a little break now, then prepare her for the Matron (Leopardstown, Irish Champions Weekend), Sun Chariot and then Breeders' Cup, something like that.

"I think the Filly & Mare is one-mile-three this year, if it was a mile-one, we'd be tempted to have a go, so it would probably be the Mile against the boys, which will be tough but all of her owners are American, so it would be nice for them, it's always been the plan.

"She means a lot to me; you're always trying to find one good one a year to take you to the Group 1s and she's doing that."

Moore, who was partnering the Donnacha O'Brien-trained three-year-old for the first time, said: "She's a great filly and she has always shown plenty, she's an Albany winner and a Cheveley Park winner who ran very well at the Breeders' Cup after that.

"She ran well in the Guineas and then went and won the Coronation this year, she's never run a bad race.

"She's straightforward, I was fast out of the gates, we weren't going mad, but it was the perfect race really. She's very uncomplicated and when you couple that with her ability, it makes things easy.

"The way she's handled her contemporaries and the older fillies here, she'd have no trouble mixing with the boys."

The Group 1 Foret on Arc Day could be a long-term target for the runner-up, with a delighted Roger Varian suggesting a drop back to seven furlongs is likely on the cards. "She ran great, I'm thrilled with her," said Varian.

"She got the mile, but I think she's better at seven furlongs. She was ridden just to get the mile – over seven, she has a high cruising speed, she's a filly with pace and James (Doyle) thought going into the dip she was going really well, but her guts and determination ground out second.

"As long as she comes out of it OK, we'd love to go to Goodwood for the Oak Tree and then see after that, as she's had a busy summer. Maybe the Foret."


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