It is hard to say that in his racecourse appearances so far Churchill has demonstrated the aura of a Hawk Wing, but there has been a touch of Giant's Causeway about the way he gets the job done and he was the most demonstrative he has been so far in his brief career during the final furlong of this latest conquest. Overcoming greenness to land Royal Ascot's Listed Chesham S. June 18 and a talented rival in Alexios Komnenos (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) to add the G3 Tyros S. to his tally at Leopardstown July 21, the imposing bay was settled third of the remaining quartet after stablemate Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was withdrawn. He always had the leader Arcada covered and after being allowed to cruise just in behind by Seamie Heffernan it was only when TDN Rising Star Radio Silence emerged to his right approaching the furlong pole that he was asked to put his seal on matters. In the end, his finishing effort was a strong one and he saw off that smart rival to gallop out to the line in the fashion of one who will relish a mile.
Interestingly, Churchill was emulating New Approach (Ire), Cape Blanco (Ire) and Gleneagles (Ire) in completing the Tyros-Futurity double and all three who shared the same sire went on to Classic glory the following season. Aidan O'Brien, who was bringing up a 10th success in the race, sees him more in the mould of the latter and has his mind on the 2000 Guineas rather than Derbies for 2017. “Hopefully he'll get further than a mile, but he's not slow this horse. I'd definitely say he's a Guineas-type of horse,” he said. “Maybe he will get a mile and a half, but he doesn't go like a mile-and-a-half horse in his work. He has plenty of boot and is a big, powerful horse. He's lovely and lazy and just quickens. He's a big, sleepy fellow. He'll come back here for the [Sept. 11 G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien] National Stakes and there's no doubt he'll be better on better ground.”
Churchill's mile credentials are obvious in his pedigree, with his dam being fast enough to finish runner-up in the G2 Queen Mary S. over five and Airwave being as good a female sprinter as there has been in the last 20 years. She did manage to win over a mile for this stable in the G2 Ridgewood Pearl S., but she was effectively a powerhouse sprinter whose half-sister Jwala (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) won the G1 Nunthorpe S. Still to come from Meow is another Galileo, an as-yet unnamed yearling filly.
Sunday, The Curragh, Ireland
GALILEO E.B.F. FUTURITY S.-G2, €130,000, CUR, 8-21, 2yo, 7fT, 1:27.36, y/s.
1–CHURCHILL (IRE), 129, c, 2, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Meow (Ire) (SW-Ire & GSP-Eng), by Storm Cat
2nd Dam: Airwave (GB), by Air Express (Ire)
3rd Dam: Kangra Valley (GB), by Indian Ridge (Ire)
O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Liberty Bloodstock (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Seamie Heffernan. €76,700. Lifetime Record: SW-Eng, $192,779. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Radio Silence, 129, c, 2, War Front">War Front–Maryfield, by Elusive Quality. ($150,000 Ylg '15 FTKJUL; $675,000 2yo '16 OBSMAR). O-LNJ Foxwoods/Mrs J S Bolger Partnership; B-Southern Equine Stables, LLC (KY); T-Jim Bolger. €24,700. 'TDN Rising Star'
[bullet ad=”bluewater-radio-silence”][bullet ad=”us-bred-ky-bred-ft-grad”]3–Arcada (Ire), 129, c, 2, Rip Van Winkle (Ire)–Applause (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). (30,000gns Ylg '15 TAOCT). O-LLoyd J Williams; B-Patrick Anthony Byrne (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €11,700.
Margins: 2, 3/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 0.25, 5.00, 12.00.
Also Ran: Lancaster Bomber. Scratched: Capri (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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