By Sean Cronin
Aidan O'Brien had expected his latest antipodean project Merchant Navy (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) to need his European introduction in Saturday's G2 Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands S. at The Curragh, but the G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner was still alert enough to upstage some serious opposition to suggest he will be a major player in the June 23 G1 Diamond Jubilee S. Held up in his usual fashion after a lazy start, the bay was within striking distance two out if capable of anything like his strong-finishing flourish when third to Redkirk Warrior (GB) (Notnowcato {GB}) in the Mar. 10 G1 Newmarket H. at Flemington. While he may not have been razor-sharp for this Royal Ascot prep, the 9-2 shot obviously held a class edge and he duly claimed stablemate Spirit of Valor (War Front) with 200 yards remaining before asserting for a length success, with Tasleet (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) a possibly unlucky third, 1 1/4 lengths away. “We felt he was just ready to come and the whole reason for running him was to see before we went to Ascot,” his trainer said. “The lads in Australia said he was a very good horse, so we just took it totally on trust. Ryan [Moore] was very happy with him. We felt that he was at a racecourse gallop stage. He did five little canters, that's all he did. I thought there would be a lot of improvement in him. I was just hoping for a nice run today, that's all, so it's all a plus. He wasn't stopping, but he's obviously not short of speed, either. He made a good bit of ground up from halfway and Ryan was riding him that way because we were afraid he would get tired.”
Merchant Navy is one of three black-type performers by Fastnet Rock out of the G3 Sweet Embrace S. winner and G1 Oakleigh Plate and G1 Australia S. third Legally Bay (Aus) (Snippets {Aus}), with the most notable being the G2 Roman Consul S. winner and G1 Ascot Vale S. runner-up Jolie Bay (Aus). Legally Bay is kin to the G1 Myer Classic heroine Bonaria (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) and the G3 Mercury Two-Year-Old Classic scorer Time Out (Aus) (Rory's Jester {Aus}) and is connected to the Australian GSW Montsegur (Aus) (New Approach {Ire}) and Tessera (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) and the multiple G1SW Australian champion and sire Gypsy Kingdom (Aus) (Planet Kingdom {Aus}). Legally Bay also has an as-yet unnamed 2-year-old colt by All Too Hard (Aus) and a yearling full-brother to Merchant Navy.
Saturday, Curragh, Ireland
WEATHERBYS IRELAND GREENLANDS S.-G2, €120,000, Curragh, 5-26, 4yo/up, 6fT, 1:11.82, g/f.
1–MERCHANT NAVY (AUS), 132, c, 4, by Fastnet Rock (Aus)
1st Dam: Legally Bay (Aus) (GSW & MG1SP-Aus, $430,193), by Snippets (Aus)
2nd Dam: Decidity (Aus), by Last Tycoon (Ire)
3rd Dam: Class (Aus), by Twig Moss (Fr)
(A$350,000 Ylg '16 INGEAY). O-Merchant Navy Syndicate; B-C Barham (AUS); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €70,800. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Aus, 9-6-0-2, $806,512. *Full to Jolie Bay (Aus), GSW & G1SP-Aus, $242,860. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Spirit of Valor, 129, c, 4, War Front">War Front–Stone Hope, by Grindstone. ($850,000 Wlg '14 KEENOV). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Nursery Place (KY); T-Aidan O'Brien. €24,000.
3–Tasleet (GB), 129, h, 5, Showcasing (GB)–Bird Key (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB). (£52,000 Ylg '14 DNPRM). O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Whitsbury Manor Stud (GB); T-William Haggas. €12,000.
Margins: 1, 1 1/4, NK. Odds: 4.50, 7.00, 2.00.
Also Ran: Brando (GB), Smash Williams (Ire), Ardhoomey (Ire), Intelligence Cross, G Force (Ire), Fas (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
