Craig Bernick's $220,000 Keeneland November graduate Nola Soul (Justify) is quite some way from being the finished article, but overcame greenness to secure an ultimately impressive debut success and a TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard, rosette in Friday evening's Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Leopardstown.
The seven-furlong heat's recent winners include Italy (Wootton Bassett), Scorthy Champ (Mehmas), Deepone (Study Of Man) and Alfred Munnings (Dubawi), and he becomes the 13th Rising Star for his sire.
“He was just about ready to start there today, he's a nice horse and we like him,” commented winning trainer Fozzy Stack. “He's a big horse and we'll only run him three or four times this year because he's a big horse that needs time. The further he goes, the better he'll go. We'll see how he sharpens up between now and Royal Ascot, but it wouldn't be all about the [Listed] Chesham.”
The 15-2 chance was rousted from the gates to track the leaders in fourth through halfway. Rowed along off the home turn, he quickened stylishly to launch his challenge entering the final furlong and found an additional gear in the latter stages to defeat the experienced King Of Cloughan (St Mark's Basilica) by 3/4-of-a-length in ultimately comfortable fashion.
Nola Soul is the second foal and scorer out of a half-sister to Listed River Eden Stakes third Favorite Memory (Frankel).
His second dam Smart Change (Smart Strike) is a half-sister to dual Grade I-winning sire Stay Thirsty (Bernardini), multiple Grade I-placed sire Andromeda's Hero (Fusaichi Pegasus) and GI Champagne Stakes-placed sire Superfly (Fusaichi Pegasus).
Smart Change is also kin to the dam GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hero Tamarkuz (Speightstown), G1 St James's Palace Stakes victor Without Parole (Frankel) and the stakes-winning GI Sword Dancer Stakes runner-up Rebel Red (Frankel).
The Kentucky-bred's siblings include a yearling colt by Annapolis and a weanling filly by Yaupon.
1st-Leopardstown, €22,000, Mdn, 5-15, 2yo, 7fT, 1:29.08, gd.
NOLA SOUL, c, 2, by Justify
1st Dam: Sing Me Home (GB), by Muhaarar (GB)
2nd Dam: Smart Change, by Smart Strike
3rd Dam: Marozia, by Storm Bird
Sales history: $220,000 Wlg '24 KEENOV. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $15,404. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Craig Bernick; B-John D Gunther (KY); T-Fozzy Stack; J-Seamus Heffernan.
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