'Like A Four-Year-Old Against Two-Year-Olds': Charles Darwin Extends Ballydoyle Streak

Making it a clean sweep for Ballydoyle of Royal Ascot's two-year-old Group races so far this week, Charles Darwin (No Nay Never) dominated the G2 Norfolk Stakes with a powerful display. Sent off the 8-13 favourite coming off three starts and two wins in his native Ireland, the full-brother to Blackbeard was quickest away and soon in command under Ryan Moore. Challenged and briefly headed by the US raider Sandal's Song (Mendelssohn) heading to the final furlong, the bay had extra in the tank to pull away and score by 2 1/4 lengths. Fellow TDN Rising Star Wise Approach (Mehmas) was closest at the line, staying on to deny Sandal's Song the runner's-up spot by 3/4 of a length.

Charles Darwin's time of 58.87 was just 0.07 off his sire's track record in the same race in 2013 and he is the only other to dip under 59 seconds in the race, so this was a case of like father, like son. He has now earned a berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar in November.

“Everybody loved him at home–he's a big, powerful strong horse who looks like a four-year-old racing against two-year-olds. He obviously had loads left way he went to the line.” Moore simply added, “He was stronger than them and better than them.”

That turn of foot! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/M5gNcLmT5x

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Charles Darwin, who debuted with a fourth at The Curragh in April, had impressed at Navan a fortnight later tackling six furlongs before dismissing the subsequent Queen Mary fourth Cardiff By The Sea at Naas last month. “We were hoping that he would get a lead. He never sees the front at home in his work,” O'Brien added. “He is always very happy to sit but, but he is very strong and very quick. Ryan does his own thing always. The gates open and he decides, so he was very happy. Ryan said he powered through the line.”

Charlie Appleby said of Wise Approach, “We felt we were probably drawn on the wrong side, but the most important part of today was for the future. Finishing second, you take the positives out of it and the positives are that he has run a really good race against a high-class horse in Charles Darwin. There is going to be a nice pot in this horse. He is versatile, five or six, but I think we could probably look to six now and ride a similar sort of race. I think he is learning with racing and doing it the right way around.”

Wathnan Racing's US advisor Case Clay said of Sandal's Song, “He is a zippy horse and James McDonald said that once he got to the rise, he got a little bit tired. He probably was not used to that. We were beaten by a very good horse, but we are very happy with the effort. We are going to take him back to the US and try to get to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, with a race or two maybe in between.”

Pedigree Notes

Charles Darwin's full-brother didn't win at this meeting, but from there he was almost an unstoppable force when taking the G1 Middle Park Stakes and G1 Prix Morny before his premature retirement. Also responsible for the Listed-placed Run Away with all her foals by No Nay Never so far, Muirin (Born To Sea) is a daughter of the G3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes winner Girouette (Pivotal) from the family of the four-times Group 3 winner Max Vega (Lope De Vega), the G1 Prix de Diane heroine Mrs. Penny and the 1,000 Guineas heroine Hatoof. Muirin's yearling is a full-sister to Charles Darwin.

Thursday, Royal Ascot, Britain
NORFOLK STAKES-G2, £150,000, Royal Ascot, 6-19, 2yo, 5fT, :58.87, g/f.
1–CHARLES DARWIN (IRE), 129, c, 2, by No Nay Never
            1st Dam: Muirin (Ire), by Born To Sea (Ire)
            2nd Dam: Girouette (Ire), by Pivotal (GB)
            3rd Dam: Vassiana (Fr), by Anabaa
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Mrs J Magnier/M
Tabor/D Smith/Westerberg; B-Newstead Breeding; T-Aidan
O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £85,065. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0,
$153,583. *Full to Blackbeard (Ire), G1SW-Eng, G1SW-Fr,
GSW-Ire, $550,894. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*.
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Wise Approach (Ire), 129, c, 2, Mehmas (Ire)–Sagely (Ire), by
Frozen Power (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
(1,000,000gns Ylg '24 TATOCT). O-Godolphin; B-Tally Ho Stud;
T-Charlie Appleby. £32,250.
3–Sandal's Song, 129, c, 2, Mendelssohn–Sandal, by Munnings.
1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. ($80,000 Wlg '23 KEENOV; $75,000
RNA Ylg '24 KEESEP; $75,000 Ylg '24 FTKOCT). O-Wathnan
Racing; B-Hunter Valley Farm & Tony Hegarty (KY); T-George
Weaver. £16,140.
Margins: 2 1/4, 3/4, HF. Odds: 0.62, 10.00, 9.00.
Also Ran: Ameeq (Ire), Comical Point (Ire), Afjan (Fr), Graft (Ire), Naval Light (GB), Irish Fighter (Ire), First Legion (Ire), Clear Force (Ire), Lil Brother (GB), Hey Tru Blue (GB), Exclamation (Ire), Star Material (Ire). Scratched: London Boy (GB).