BY the time you read this, you will know the outcome of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf. The result will be a shock if it does not feature an Irish-trained winner, with the leading contenders from here being the brilliant Sun Goddess, Amusingly and Green Empress.

That trio are all Group 1 winners in Europe, while lurking just outside the betting is the less exposed Curracloe (Baaeed), who is unbeaten on both her starts, a maiden at Gowran Park and the Group 3 Darley Fillies Stakes at the Curragh. Her form is solid, she is clearly an improving sort, and though she has a mountain to climb at Keeneland, she is a talented runner with a bright future.

American-bred Curracloe, a 240,000gns yearling purchase by David Redvers for Qatar Racing, is joined as a group-winner by another filly from the first crop of Baaeed (Sea The Stars), and this is Cheveley Park Stud’s homebred Coaxed. She won a Kempton maiden on her debut, and less than three weeks later was third in the Group 3 Prestige Stakes at Goodwood. After a short break, she tackled a mile for the first time and won the Group 3 Prix des Reservoirs at Chantilly, a race with a fine record of producing Group 1 winners.

Owenstown Stud’s John Tuthill bred the red hot Keeneland favourite Sun Goddess, and he is responsible for the dam of Coaxed, Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Persuasive (Dark Angel). She sold as a yearling to Cheveley Park for €180,000 at Goffs, earned just shy of €1 million while racing, and is now dam of four winners.

A half-sister to the Group 1 winner Creative Force (Dubawi), Persuasive’s first six foals comprise four winners and a couple of placed runners. Three of the four winners earned some blacktype. Last year, Coaxed’s half-sister Cajole (Dubawi) was a listed winner at Ascot, and this spring she was covered by Blue Point (Shamardal). Coaxed has a yearling full-brother, and Persuasive has a filly foal by Blue Point.

Baaeed has made a great start to his career at stud, with nine individual winners posted already. He is mirroring the start that Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) made when he retired to Gilltown Stud, an encouraging omen for the future. Coaxed was the first winner for her sire, but what a run of success he has enjoyed since, and it might be a further omen that both he and Sea The Stars had their first stakes winners in the same race.

WHAT a wonderful name for a racehorse, and what a surprise that it was available for use. The movie Chariots Of Fire was released 45 years ago to huge acclaim, and with a stellar cast. It is truly a classic.

An equine Chariots Of Fire (St Mark’s Basilica) was unleashed on the racing world by Andrew Balding recently, and the colt’s winning debut added £6,480 to the trainer’s winnings as he attempts to claw back Aidan O’Brien’s total for the 2026 season. It could come down to the finest of margins and what an irony it would be were Balding to retain the trainers’ championship by the slimmest of margins. Chariots Of Fire was bred by Coolmore!

Sold as a yearling for €180,000 at Goffs Orby Book 1 to Jake Warren’s Highclere Agency, the colt was bought on behalf of Harry Herbert’s Highclere Thoroughbreds. He has a smart pedigree, one befitting a stallion were he to go on and compile a good race record. Chariots Of Fire is the ninth living offspring of the unraced Dixieland Kiss (Dixie Union), a filly that was culled quickly by Darley.

Gerard Kerin

Bred and sold by Hermitage Farm in Kentucky, Dixieland Kiss cost $500,000 as a yearling, but was sold less than two years later at the Tattersalls July Sale for 33,000gns to BBA Ireland as an unraced three-year-old. She was in the ownership of Gerard Kerin and he bred her first three foals. The first was Besharah (Kodiac), winner at two of the Group 2 Lowther Stakes and placed in the Group 1 Connolly’s Red Mills Cheveley Park Stakes. She has since bred a Group 3 winner.

After having three foals for Kerin, Dixieland Kiss was acquired privately by Coolmore and visited Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) for four consecutive years, producing three fillies and a colt. The latter was Modern Science who was a stakes-placed winner in the USA. Until now, Dixieland Kiss has done better with her offspring bred by Kerin. Arzaak (Casamento) won six races and about €100,000, while the unraced Kissepal (Epaulette) is dam of the Grade 2 winner Poolside With Slim (Churchill).

Fourth winner

Chariots Of Fire is the fourth winner from his dam, and just five of that mare’s progeny have run. She had a daughter by Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) withdrawn from this year’s Orby Sale. This spring Dixieland Kiss was covered by City Of Troy (Justify).

With this win, Chariots Of Fire has pushed St Mark’s Basilica closer to matching his first season tally of 23 juvenile winners in the part of the world. He also had six winners at two in the southern hemisphere, and his New Zealand-bred daughter Saintly Dancer is a Group 1 winner there this season at three. His winners in Europe include four-time Group 1 winner and dual classic heroine Diamond Necklace, and the colt Thesecretadversary.

A MONTH after finishing second in the Grade 1 Gran Criterium d’Autunno Hurdle in Merano, the three-year-old filly Double Be (Blue Bresil) recorded a blacktype win in the Listed Prix Vatelys at Compiegne on just her second steeplechase outing. Trained by Hugo and Pierre Pilarski, she produced her effort between the last two fences. and pulled away on the flat to win very comfortably, seven and a half lengths ahead of the rest.

Bred by the Treackle Tart Partnership, Double Be sold at the Goffs December National Hunt Sale as a foal from Rathbarry for €44,000 to Brendan Bashford and Amanda Zetterholm. She was brought to the Arqana Autumn Sale as a two-year-old by Haras de Cordelles but bought back for €16,000. She is the third foal and first winner of her dam Treackle Tart (Winged Love), who won 5 races over hurdles and fences in England and was runner-up in the Listed Fair Maid of Perth Mares’ Chase.

Treackle Tart’s first foal has not been named, her second Lose The Blues (Blue Bresil) is unraced, and she has a two-year-old colt by the same Glenview Stud sire. Her two most recent offspring, a yearling colt and colt foal are by Jeu St Eloi (Saint Des Saints), while this year she among more than 220 mares covered by Magic Dream (Saint Des Saints) in his first season at the Cashman’s Glenview Stud.

While she stems from a female line that acquitted itself well on the flat, Treackle Tart is a half-sister to Battleoverdoyen (Doyen). He won at the highest level over hurdles and fences, successful in the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown and the Lawlor’s of Naas Novice Hurdle. Gordon Elliott trained him.

Blue Bresil has some 60 foals in his final crop, and the first of these to come under the hammer will do so at the Tattersalls Ireland November Sale. The 10 catalogued include the first foal out of a listed bumper-winning half-sister to Ballyburn, and a colt from the breeder of Battleoverdoyen, Caroline Berry, and he is out of a French listed chase winner – and that win came in the same race won by Double Be!