Twenty-one-year-old Donnacha O’Brien, son of Irish champion flat trainer Aidan, and brother of former Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby-winning trainer, Joseph, had incredibly only three winners to his name before today’s win in France.

His filly, Fancy Blue, had finished an eye-catching runner-up behind his father’s Peaceful (11/4) in the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas at The Curragh three weeks ago. With rivalry renewed in France today, the form was turned as Fancy Blue took the win, with Jessica Harrington’s Alpine Star (6/4f), winner of the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, taking second, ahead of Peaceful in third.

With Harrington’s filly making much of the running under Stéphane Pasquier, she was eventually worn down by Fancy Blue in the hands of Pierre-Charles Boudot, as Peaceful made her challenge on the outside for Séamie Heffernan. In a tight finish, a head separated the winner and runner-up, with a further head back to the third.

The winning trainer, speaking at Fairyhouse, said of his maiden Group 1 victory:

“I always knew she was a very good filly and we always thought the step up in trip would suit her. It definitely did. Pierre-Charles is a very good rider and I told him beforehand he should do what he wants. There was no pace early so he went forward on her and sat upsides the leader. It was exactly what I would have liked him to do. She quickened up well and stuck at it.”

French jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot, who tracked the favourite Alpine Star throughout,  said:

“We didn’t go that fast so I took her up to just behind the leaders and it was pretty straightforward. She produced a sustained burst of acceleration and was really brave at the finish. There’s a lot that goes into the kind of run of big wins I’ve enjoyed in the last year, but mostly it’s a case of being lucky to get on these good horses.”

Donnacha O’Brien immediately hinted that the Juddmonte Irish Oaks at The Curragh on 18th July might be the next target for his Classic-winning filly:

“We’ll get her home and see how she is tomorrow. We might have a look at the Irish Oaks at The Curragh.”

Trainer of the runner-up Jessica Harrington was pleased with her filly’s performance, coming just 15 days after her win at Royal Ascot, with the Moone-based handler admitting:

“She’s gone very close and it was a whisker either way. Maybe the ground was a bit too quick for her but that’s life. It’s quite a funny feeling to be disappointed after running second in a Group 1. She ran her heart out. She seems to stay and she did everything right and maybe the ground was probably a bit quick.”

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The three-year-old Sea The Moon filly was the only Irish-trained winner on Saturday, meaning Ireland-based trainers had one winner each day of the meeting.

Owned by the Niarchos Family, Alpine Star, who was making her first start of 2020, responded well to Frankie Dettori and took up the running entering the final furlong. The filly stayed on strongly for a four and a quarter length victory over the American challenger Sharing (16/5), with Roger Charlton’s 2/1f Quadrilateral a further length and three-quarters back in third.

Winning trainer Jessica Harrington, who was unable to attend Royal Ascot his year, said of today’s win:

“It is absolutely amazing because I am sitting here (at home), I can’t go racing, and watching it on the telly is very hard. I could not believe it because she was the only horse in the field that hadn’t had a run this year, but she is amazing. She is a half-sister to a complete superstar, Alpha Centauri, who gave me my first Royal Ascot winner. She was just amazing today, she did it so easy.”

The Co. Kildare-based handler continued:

“She is very laidback and nothing like Alpha Centauri, who was a great big, very imposing filly. This filly is not very big, she is not a great colour – a little bit of a mealy chestnut. If you saw her trotting around in the string, you wouldn’t pick her out, but she has the most wonderful attitude. Frankie was probably squeezing her along before she turned in but every time you give her a squeeze, she will come for you.”

Jessica Harrington was represented at Royal Ascot by her son-in-law Richie Galway who said:

“Alpine Star is a straightforward filly. Jessie sends anything that she runs at Ascot to stay with her great pal Nicky Henderson in Lambourn, he has been hugely helpful and he is going to claim credit for this! They have a fairly tried and tested routine, and the filly is straightforward – she’s very relaxed, very easy to handle, travels very well, so from that point of view the only logistical issue is that unfortunately Jessie, Emma, Kate and the Niarchos family – and Shane; Frankie Dettori, what a sub to have, and amazing that he hasn’t won a Coronation Stakes before, brilliant to get him – but the amount of work that Shane Foley has done on the filly at home has made today possible.”

The victory was jockey Frankie Dettori’s first success in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes, meaning he has now won every Group 1 race run at Royal Ascot, and incredibly only needs to win Newmarket’s July Cup to have won every British Group 1 race.

The winning rider said of Alpha Star:

“I really fancied Alpine Star. I didn’t want to jinx it, so I kept quiet. I kept it quiet and knew she was an exciting ride. Everything went to plan in the race. I had a decent draw. I hit a flat spot and I got the split on the fence and then the rest was history. She will definitely get the mile and a quarter, she did all her best work at the end, the mile and a half? I really don’t know, I will leave to Maria Niarchos and Jessie to talk about.”

2.25pm Coronation Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)

1 Alpine Star Jessica Harrington 3-9-00 Frankie Dettori 9/2
2 Sharing Graham Motion USA 2-9-00 Oisín Murphy 16/5
3 Quadrilateral Roger Charlton 3-9-00 Jason Watson 2/1f

7 ran
Distances: 4¼, 1¾l
Time: 1m 42.21s

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