THE love affair between the Gaffney brothers, Tom and Michael, and Starspangledbanner (Choisir) has finally yielded what it has always promised, a Group 1 winner. Senorita Bonita slammed the opposition to win the Sumbe Prix Morny at Deauville by four lengths, and she has provided a most timely update for her yearling half-sister by Modern Games (Dubawi) who will surely be one of the stars in Book 1 of the Goffs Orby Sale.

Incredibly, Senorita Bonita did not find favour with buyers on the first two occasions she went to the sales, failing to sell at 75,000gns both as a foal and a yearling. Tom and Michael did not lose faith in her. Instead they sent her to Mark Flannery at Egmont Stud when she returned from Book 2 and she was prepared for this year’s Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale. After posting a good time, she went on to top the sale at 900,000gns (almost €1.1 million), selling to Anthony Stroud.