ONE of the absolute highlights of the five-day Royal Ascot festival of top-class racing was the victory of Inspiral in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes. Making her comeback to the racecourse after a break of more than 250 days, she faced 11 opponents for what was one of the highest-quality races of the week.

Unbeaten in four starts at two, culminating with a Group 1 success in the Fillies’ Mile, the Cheveley Park Stud-owned and bred daughter of Frankel (Galileo) is a fourth generation product of the farm. She traces back to Rose Goddess (Sassafras) who was bred at Ferrans Stud in 1979, then owned by the German industrialist Dr Herbert Schnapka, and sold as a yearling at Goffs for IR78,000gns. However, she did not race and ended up in the breeding shed at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky.

Rose Goddess had only six foals, her first two being the Group 1 winning juvenile colt Sanam (Golden Act), and the South African Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed colt Shaybani (Al Nasr). Her fifth and sixth foals were bred by Cheveley Park Stud, her final produce being Mystic Goddess (Storm Bird).

Twice, including a listed race, was runner-up in the Group 3 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, and chased home Sayyedati when third in the Group 3 Cherry Hinton Stakes. At stud she bred five winners, the best of which was Medicean (Machiavellian).

He won the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes and Lockinge Stakes, and today would have been a triple Group 1 winner as he also landed the then Group 2 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot. Medicean went to stud at Cheveley Park and sired Dutch Art who joined him in the stallion yard there. His daughters included Cheveley Park’s Group 1 winner Nannina.

Medicean’s half-sisters include the placed Moonglow (Nayef), dam of the Group 2 winning juvenile Mondreise (Daiwa Major) in Japan.

Starscope

Another of Mystic Goddess’ daughters was the mile maiden three-year-old winner Moon Goddess (Rainbow Quest), responsible for six winners, notably the stakes winner Solar Magic (Pivotal) and juvenile winner Starscope (Selkirk). The latter was certainly deserving of a stakes win, but it didn’t happen.

Starscope won one of her eight starts, her sole run at two, but her placed efforts included being a well-beaten second in the Group 1 1000 Guineas, with Maybe, The Fugue and La Collina directly behind her, and finishing runner-up to stable companion Fallen For You in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, a race now captured by her daughter.

Four winners with her first four foals is a fine start at stud for Starscope, and the others include the stakes-placed Celestran (Dansili) who has won twice this year in Saudi Arabia.

Frankel had a memorable weekend, with his daughter Nashwa (reviewed elsewhere in this column) providing him with his 22nd Group 1 winner from his first six crops.

Three of his four Group 1 winners this year are three-year-old fillies; Nashwa, Inspiral and the Group 1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas heroine, Homeless Songs.