By Sean Cronin
Godolphin homebred Dance To The Music (Dubawi) notched a one-length debut triumph at Newmarket's Rowley Mile track in May and maintained her unbeaten record with a battling display in Saturday's G3 Newsells Park Stud Sweet Solera Stakes at the town's summer venue.
Stalking the pace in second through halfway, the 11-4 chance was shaken up to launch her challenge passing the quarter-mile marker and kept on in resolute fashion once gaining an edge approaching the final furlong to defeat Princess Petrol (St Mark's Basilica) and Venetian Lace (Masar) by a neck and a half-length.
“She is a filly who is a full-sister to Space Blues and your heart sometimes rules your head when you get involved with these pedigrees, but that was very pleasing,” said Charlie Appleby after claiming a first win in the contest. “She is so much more forward than Space Blues, who didn't run until November at Nottingham. This filly came out in the spring and Billy [Loughnane] rode her that day on the Rowley Mile. He said she was very weak and raw, which she was really. We have given her all the time to do what she needs to do at this stage of her career and we felt it was the right time to step up to seven [furlongs]. She has that turn of foot as well which Billy used today. When you have got a Charlie Johnston horse on the front end, you have got to respect that and sit close to its girth. Billy said I was never going to outstay one of theirs, so he used that acceleration he had underneath him and I think that was probably the winning of the race.”
Looking ahead, Appleby added, “What we saw with Space Blues, as he got older and stronger, he got quicker. I think this filly will do the same. Billy said today she is still raw and weak and I think she is only going to improve with time under her girth. She is not the biggest, but Space Blues wasn't the biggest or most robust. We got to see the best of him at four and five when he was competing at the highest level. You are always better off having a good little one rather than a bad big one.”
strikes a winning chord in the @newsellspark Sweet Solera Stakes @NewmarketRace @loughnane_billy | @godolphin pic.twitter.com/L4pslwSQi5
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 9, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Dance To The Music is the 11th of 12 foals and one of seven scorers out of G2 Challenge Stakes victrix Miss Lucifer (Noverre), herself the leading performer out of a half-sister to G2 King Edward VII Stakes-winning sire Amfortas (Caerleon). The April-foaled homebred chestnut is a full-sister to multiple Group 1-winning sire Space Blues and a yearling filly. She is also kin to multiple Group-winning distaffer Shuruq (Elusive Quality) and to the dam of G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup winner Taj Dragon (Mehmas). Shuruq, in turn, is the dam of GIII The Very One Stakes victrix and GI Belmont Oaks Invitational runner-up Antoinette (Hard Spun) and the dual Graded-placed Javanica (Medaglia D'Oro).
Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
NEWSELLS PARK STUD SWEET SOLERA STAKES-G3, £60,000, Newmarket, 8-9, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:25.75, g/f.
1–DANCE TO THE MUSIC (GB), 128, f, 2, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Miss Lucifer (Fr) (GSW-Eng, $193,403), by Noverre
2nd Dam: Devil's Imp (Ire), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
3rd Dam: High Spirited (Ire), by Shirley Heights (GB)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. O/B-Godolphin; T-Charlie Appleby; J-Billy Loughnane. £34,026. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $73,147. *Full to Space Blues (Ire), MG1SW-Fr, GISW-US & MGSW-Eng, $2,585,725; and 1/2 to Shuruq (Elusive Quality), MGSW-UAE, GSW-Tur & GSP-Eng, $658,709. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Princess Petrol (GB), 128, f, 2, St Mark's Basilica (Fr)–Mot Juste, by Distorted Humor. 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (280,000gns Ylg '24 TATOCT). O-ELB Bloodstock Ltd; B-W & R Barnett Ltd; T-Ed Walker. £12,900.
3–Venetian Lace (Ire), 128, f, 2, Masar (Ire)–Nash Nasha (GB), by Dubawi (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum; B-Godolphin; T-Charlie Johnston. £6,456.
Margins: NK, HF, HF. Odds: 2.75, 8.00, 2.75.
Also Ran: Midnight Tango (GB), Sapphire Steps (Ire). Scratched: True Test (GB).
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