By Sean Cronin
Friday's G3 Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood was shorn of the Godolphin duo Opera Ballo and Spectacular View, and it was the former's Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes vanquished Seagulls Eleven (Galileo) who stepped forward to claim a stakes breakthrough in his eighth attempt at black-type level.
“I have just about recovered from his dad getting beat in the Sussex Stakes,” joked Hugo Palmer. “Ryan Moore came and did us on the line that day with The Ghurka, so to turn the tables with his son is nice. We probably over-faced Seagulls Eleven a bit last year–he danced some pretty big dances–but he is a very generous horse and they weren't getting past him. He is quite a handful, and not an easy horse to train, and gelding him has made a bit of a difference. Plan A was to track Ryan [aboard King Of Cities], but his horse missed the break a bit. We were always quick away and Oisin [Murphy] said that they were walking, so he just went straight to Plan B. When Oisin rides for me, I just have such confidence that we're going to win. That's nothing against any of the other fantastic jockeys that ride for us, but he just seems to make what can be quite difficult look so simple.”
Looking ahead to future targets, the trainer added, “Seagulls Eleven has taken us all around the world and I don't think we are done yet. The Golden Eagle in Sydney has already been mentioned and why not? It is a $10m dollar race and where can you say that in England? Maybe we will have one more run [in the UK] and we could talk about supplementing for the [G1] City Of York or maybe the [G2] Celebration Mile back here. I haven't really thought about it.”
Last term's G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes third and G1 Dewhurst Stakes fourth led on sufferance through the early strides, but soon warmed to his frontrunning role. Coming under pressure when threatened approaching the quarter-mile marker, the 11-4 third favourite refused to surrender his advantage and kept on in resolute fashion under a late drive to hold Diego Ventura (Mehmas) by 3/4-of-a-length. King Of Cities (Dubawi) was a half-length back in third, while TDN Rising Star Cosmic Year (Kingman) was all dressed up with nowhere to go along the fence inside the final quarter-mile and finished 1 1/4 lengths adrift in fourth.
A win for the seagulls! 🪽
Seagulls Eleven, owned by some @OfficialBHAFC players, wins a messy edition of the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes for team @hpalmerracing and @themichaelowen.
🟦⬜️ pic.twitter.com/R3L1sIl4cz
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 1, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Seagulls Eleven is the fourth of five foals and second pattern-race winner produced by a half-sister to Listed Boadicea Fillies' Stakes third The Gold Cheongsam (Red Clubs). His stakes-placed second dam Fuerta Ventura (Desert Sun) is a half-sister to stakes-winning G2 Mill Reef Stakes and G3 Tetrarch Stakes runner-up Sir Xaar (Xaar). The March-foaled gelded chestnut is a half-brother to G1 Prix de l'Abbaye heroine The Platinum Queen (Cotai Glory) and a yearling colt by Cotai Glory.
Friday, Goodwood, Britain
BONHAMS THOROUGHBRED STAKES-G3, £100,000, Goodwood, 8-1, 3yo, 8fT, 1:39.65, g/s.
1–SEAGULLS ELEVEN (IRE), 129, g, 3, by Galileo Gold (GB)
1st Dam: Thrilled (Ire), by Kodiac (GB)
2nd Dam: Fuerta Ventura (Ire), by Desert Sun (GB)
3rd Dam: Cradle Brief (Ire), by Brief Truce
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (50,000gns Ylg '23 TATOCT). O-Two Plus Three Two Plus Four; B-Tally-Ho Stud; T-Hugo Palmer; J-Oisin Murphy. £56,710. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Ire, 10-2-3-1, $216,607. *1/2 to The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), G1SW-Fr & G1SP-Eng, $407,848. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Diego Ventura (Ire), 129, c, 3, Mehmas (Ire)–Leoube (Ire), by Kodiac (GB). (€88,000 Ylg '23 GOFOR; €72,000 2yo '24 TATBRU). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Sean Ronan & Caroline Hanly; T-Hamad Al Jehani. £21,500.
3–King Of Cities (Ire), 129, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Ajman Princess (Ire), by Teofilo (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O/B-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; T-Richard Hannon. £10,760.
Margins: 3/4, HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.75, 5.00, 2.50.
Also Ran: Cosmic Year (GB). Scratched: Opera Ballo (Ire), Spectacular View (GB).
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
