By Tom Frary
As if Saturday's action at The Curragh hadn't already championed Cooomore's stratospheric Wootton Bassett, along came Whirl to hammer home the point in a thrilling renewal of the feature G1 Pretty Polly Stakes. Outgunning Juddmonte's accomplished Kalpana (Study Of Man) following a prolonged tussle between the elite mastercraftsmen Ryan Moore and Colin Keane, Ballydoyle's Oaks runner-up followed on where the stable's Dorset and Beautify had led earlier in the afternoon.
Reminding the world that he remains a racing fan, Aidan O'Brien was quick to pay tribute to the actors involved in this enticing duel. “That's what you want to come racing to watch, one we'll remember for a long time,” he said. “They went at it all the way and eyeballed each other and it was ding-dong. Those kind of races are few and far between. When you have that type of quality horse lining up and two riders like that. On ground like this, in a place like this, it's a very special weekend. One to celebrate and enjoy–a great spectacle.”
Of the winner, who also took the G3 Musidora Stakes at York in May before going down fighting to Minnie Hauk at Epsom, he added, “She's very special and very tough. She doesn't blow and is one of those hard and genuine racing machines with big lungs–she's all muscle and bone. It's hard coming back from a mile and a half to this trip, a bit like walking a tightrope but Ryan got it spot-on again.”
Whirl, who was second in the betting at 13-8 behind Juddmonte's King George-bound 5-6 market-leader, ultimately looked to outstay her chief rival as she prevailed by 1 1/4 lengths, with last year's G1 Prix de Diane runner-up Survie (Churchill) 1 3/4 lengths away in third. That may come as a surprise given the profiles of the two fillies, but as the weeks wear on in the 2025 campaign there is more and more evidence that Wootton Bassett is producing class acts at every trip that outlast their pedigree.
“She's an incredible filly. She's just progressed and she loves getting into a fight,” O'Brien added. “She's absolutely concrete, really. She can go anywhere now. She can come back here to the Oaks, she can go to the Nassau. I'd imagine if Minnie Hauk comes back to the Oaks and she's well she'll be let go by herself and this filly could do other things.”
Group 1 glory!
Whirl strikes from Kalpana in a thrilling €300,000 @paddypower Pretty Polly Stakes for Ryan Moore, Aidan O'Brien and Ballydoyle 👏 @curraghrace pic.twitter.com/76Eys2rB3i
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 28, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Whirl is the first foal out of Galileo's fairly modest performer Salsa, whose credibility is significantly boosted by the fact that she is a full-sister to the Group 1 winners Hydrangea, Hermosa and The United States. The former is now the dam of Dubawi's G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes runner-up Wingspan and Listed Tetrarch Stakes scorer Officer, with Hermosa responsible for that sire's G3 Hampton Court Stakes winner Trinity College.
Pivotal's G2 Prix du Gros-Chene-winning second dam Beauty Is Truth is out of the G3 Prix du Bois winner Zelding, linking the winner to the likes of Last Tycoon and Zipping. Salsa's next two foals are full-siblings to the winner, with the 2-year-old a colt named Kepler and the yearling a filly, while she also has a filly foal by Justify.
Saturday, Curragh, Ireland
PADDY POWER PRETTY POLLY STAKES-G1, €300,000, Curragh, 6-28, 3yo/up, f/m, 10fT, 2:04.95, gd.
1–WHIRL (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
1st Dam: Salsa (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Beauty Is Truth (Ire), by Pivotal (GB)
3rd Dam: Zelding (Ire), by Warning (GB)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier; B-Coolmore; T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €180,000. Lifetime Record: GSW & G1SP-Eng, 8-4-1-0, $536,706. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kalpana (GB), 138, f, 4, Study Of Man (Ire)–Zero Gravity (GB), by Dansili (GB). O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd; T-Andrew Balding. €60,000.
3–Survie (Ire), 138, f, 4, Churchill (Ire)–Sotteville (Fr), by Le Havre (Ire). O-China Horse Club International & Gerard Augustin-Normand; B-Franklin Finance SA (IRE); T-Nicolas Clement & Flo Hermans. €30,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1 3/4, NK. Odds: 1.63, 0.83, 18.00.
Also Ran: Wemightakedlongway (Ire), Jancis (Ire), Higher Leaves (Ire), Magical Hope (GB).
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