By Tom Frary
Monday's Listed First Flier Stakes at The Curragh was stripped of key interest after the withdrawals of Star Prospect and Maria Quiteria, but still boasted a smart winner in Gary Matthews and Steve Weston's Velozee (Sioux Nation).
Happy to wait while Ballydoyle's New Yorker (No Nay Never) pulled away his chance ahead, the Paddy Twomey-trained 4-1 joint-second favourite went by that 4-7 favourite and into the clear approaching the furlong pole for a 3 1/2-length defeat of What A Girl Wants (Persian Force). New Yorker paid for his exertions to finish a further six lengths away in third.
“She's very good, I've made no secret of what I think of her and I was quite confident coming here,” jockey Billy Lee said of the €92,000 Goffs Orby Book 1 purchase. “She was straightforward, cruised away upsides and was just doing enough in front. She'll learn again from this and if she comes through the Group 3 at Naas in a couple of weeks we'll be looking at Royal Ascot.”
Twomey added of the winner, who was bought into by Weston after her winning debut in a Cork maiden last month, “Billy thinks six furlongs will be no issue to her, so we might look at maybe the Albany. She could go back to Naas in a couple of weeks to run again. She is a strong filly. She has had one bit of work since she won in Cork. She's uncomplicated and I think she's good.”
Velozee (Sioux Nation) strikes in the Listed AES Recycling First Flier Stakes @curraghrace under Billy Lee for @ptwomeyracing 💥 pic.twitter.com/ZSksXKqKh3
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 4, 2026
The unraced dam, a purchase by AFP Bloodstock for just 8,000gns from the Godolphin draft at the 2021 Tattersalls December Sale, is a daughter of the German Listed scorer Etive (Elusive Quality) who is in turn a half-sister to the Breeders' Cup Mile hero Master Of The Seas (Dubawi), the St James's Palace Stakes runner-up Latharnach (Iffraaj) and G3 UAE Oaks winner Falls Of Lora (Street Cry).
Falls Of Lora produced the Bahrain luminary Isle Of Jura (New Approach), who annexed the Hardwicke, his multiple Australian Group 1-winning full-brother Cascadian and the GI Summer Stakes winner Albahr (Dubawi). Another of Etive's half-siblings Bint Almatar (Kingmambo) was responsible for the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis hero Tornado Alert (Too Darn Hot) and G1 Metropolitan winner Just Fine (Sea The Stars). Ocean Life's yearling filly is by Blackbeard.
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