Coolmore Turf Mile (Grade 1)

First Lady Stakes (Grade 1)

THE Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland has proven a difficult race for Europeans to win and so it proved again last Saturday at Keeneland when local favourite Rhetorical won the race for the second year running.

Lake Forest, trained by William Haggas and ridden by Cieren Fallon, did not have the clearest of passages in finishing second but the all-the-way winner had more than two lengths to spare under Irad Ortiz and can be expected to be among the favourites for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at this track later in the month.

In third spot was the three-year-old Title Role, winner of the German 2000 Guineas and Belmont Derby for Simon and Ed Crisford, and now trained by Brendan Walsh.

Rhetorical became the first back-to-back Turf Mile winner since Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti took consecutive editions in 2010 and 2011. A five-year-old gelding by Not This Time, he is trained by Will Walden.

Irish export

Earlier in the evening the Irish export Lush Lips was narrowly denied another Grade 1 victory in the First Lady Stakes over the turf mile course.

Originally trained by Donnacha O’Brien, the four-year-old daughter of Ten Sovereigns has never been out of the first two since joining Brendan Walsh and won the Grade 1 QEII Cup at Keeneland last autumn.

She came into last Saturday’s race off a six-week break and lost her position at halfway, as And One More Time and Segesta disputed the lead. The 9/1 shot Classic Q was close up in third under John Velazquez.

Early in the straight Lush Lips produced a killer burst of speed to lead and looked sure to win but she pricked her ears inside the final furlong and allowed Classic Q to join her on the line, eventually losing out by a nose.

The winner, a highly consistent mare herself, is trained by Mark Casse and has chased home Lush Lips on a few occasions. If the pair meet again this year, you’d fancy Lush Lips will have her measure.

Tyler Gaffalione, rider of Lush Lips, said: “It just opened up a little too soon, and we got there too quick today. She’s got a good long run – it’s just timing it right. The issue was the filly on the outside (Classic Q) was so far away, there was probably about four or five paths between us, and it just took me a little bit to get my filly over there to go see her.”