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Well-bred Shale breaks maiden
Fresh from saddling his first Classic winner in France on the weekend, Donnacha O’Brien unearthed a promising two-year-old at Gowran Park on Wednesday when the well-bred filly Shale (2 f Galileo - Homecoming Queen by Holy Roman Emperor) broke her maiden over a mile.
Last seen running sixth on debut at Leopardstown on June 21, the two-year-old filly surged clear of her rivals to beat the Aidan O’Brien-trained High Heels (Galileo) by a decisive three and a quarter lengths, while Umneyaat (Dansili) finished another length and further back in third.
The filly is out of Homecoming Queen (Holy Roman Emperor) - who landed the 2012 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) for Donnacha’s father Aidan.
Homecoming Queen has produced 3 winners, headlined by Group 2-placed Berkeley Square (Galileo) and Listed-placed First Of Spring (Galileo).
Homecoming Queen herself is a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Dylan Thomas (Danehill), Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) winner Queen’s Logic (Grand Lodge) and Group 2 Lady Of The Desert (Rahy), who in turn produced fellow Group 2 winner Queen Kindly (Frankel).
Homecoming Queen also counts Oaks (Gr 1, 1m4f) runner-up Remember When (Danehill Dancer) as one of her half-siblings and she is the dam of last weekend’s Derby (Gr 1, 1m4f) winner Serpentine (Galileo), while she has also produced Group 2 winner Wedding Vow (Galileo), Group 3 scorers Bye Bye Baby (Galileo) and Beacon Rock and Listed winner Bound (Galileo).
The Galileo / Holy Roman Emperor cross has produced three stakes winners, headed by Group 1 winner Johannes Vermeer, who won Saint-Cloud Criterium International (Gr 1, 1400m) and also finished second in the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) and Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) in 2017.