Canada-Bound Thesecretadversary First Black-Type Winner For St Mark's Basilica In The Churchill

One of the early flagbearers for his first-crop sire St Mark's Basilica, Thesecretadversary became the landmark first black-type winner for Ballydoyle's former brilliant runner on Friday when breaking his maiden in the Listed Coolmore Stud Churchill Stakes. Expected to shed that tag when long odds-on at Ayr last month, Cayton Park Stud and Susan Magnier's Chesham runner-up put that blip firmly behind him with a length verdict over Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Brussels (Wootton Bassett) in the Tipperary feature.

“I'm glad I got another chance after getting beaten at Ayr last time and he's a nice horse who is still a bit weak,” Seamie Heffernan said of the Fozzy Stack-trained 3-1 second favourite, who had also run second to Ballydoyle's subsequent Superlative runner-up Italy on debut at Leopardstown in May. “The head went down today, but he's just not a two-year-old. He'll definitely make a mile-and-a-quarter horse–you could make him keen and a quick runner, but we'd be cautious about keeping the revs down and making him a middle-distance horse instead.”

Stack added, “His run at Ayr was a mess-up and while maybe the winner isn't too bad, they went no gallop and the ground was soft. He had run well in Ascot and backed that up today. It might be worth taking our chance in those big races now and there's a Grade One [the Sept. 14 Summer Stakes] for him in Canada on the same day as the National Stakes, which might be an option.”

“The horse's family has been lucky for me and thanks to the Rupert and Magnier families for sending them all to me,” he added. “My association goes back to Scream Blue Murder and I have an older full-sister to Thesecretadversary in training as well.”

REDEMPTION 🥇

Group 1-entered Thesecretadversary makes amends for his odds-on defeat last time by taking down the well-fancied Brussels in the Listed @coolmorestud Churchill Stakes.@tipperaryraces pic.twitter.com/jRGk6AyhvQ

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 8, 2025

The winner is the second foal out of the Listed Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes winner and G2 Ridgewood Pearl Stakes-placed dam after the modest maiden three-year-old filly A Call Too Soon (Calyx) that Stack was referring to in his post-race interview. The second dam is Oratorio's aforementioned G3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes winner Scream Blue Murder who also produced Galileo's Wargrave who was third in this race and G3 Flame of Tara Stakes-placed Ahandfulofsummers.

Also related to the multiple Group-winning South African mare Gibraltar Blue (Rock Of Gibraltar), Too Soon To Panic's yearling is a full-sister to the winner while she also has a colt foal by the all-conquering Wootton Bassett.