A Syndicate Dream on the Classic Stage - Cornelius Lysaght
Even given how accomplished the Opulence Thoroughbreds buying policy has proved to be, having Sukanya in the Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas as a leading player is quite something for the filly’s owners and for the company as a whole.
Many similar syndicates don’t get anywhere near a Classic despite years of trying, and definitely not in the season after securing a prestigious Group Two prize, like York’s Lowther Stakes, as was achieved with Royal Fixation in August.
When Opulence’s silks were carried by its first runners in 2020, the management was certainly dreaming of this type of thing, but at that stage it was just that, a dream – no wonder George’s excitement when talking about The Curragh challenge on the Nick Luck Daily podcast was positively contagious.
Despite red-hot opposition from Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore, he declared he “wouldn’t swap our filly for anything else” and spoke of her “continuing to strengthen and develop”, before adding that an “electric turn of foot…doesn’t mean she won’t stay” the step-up in distance to the one-mile of the Guineas.
The link to the podcast can be found below, and George is on 21 minutes or so in, though to be fair the whole episode is, as ever, an excellent listen.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-1526-can-last-ditch-letter-derail-affordability-checks/id1518596869?i=1000768403312
Sukanya’s trainer Jack Channon has been one of THE trainers to follow in the early skirmishes of the turf campaign.
As well as the filly taking her already highly promising form to a new level in Newbury’s Dubai Duty Free Stakes (still the Fred Darling to many of us), the West Ilsley operation has also taken the Lincoln Handicap (Urban Lion) and the Lincoln consolation race (Mezcala), both at Doncaster on the opening afternoon of the season, and the team is operating on a very healthy strike-rate wherever it goes.
Chatting to me on the microphone at Windsor – after the success of Sargent Dennis, ridden by Tom Marquand, with whom the stable has been enjoying a profitable association – Jack confirmed that everything had continued to go well – maybe even better – since Newbury, and that he and new wife Allana, who rides the filly every day, were relishing the prospect of taking aim at the Irish Classic.
And those listening were left in little doubt that they believe that Sukanya, the product of a mating between the outstanding Havana Grey and the prolifically successful broodmare Shiba (whose offspring have won over a wide variety of distances) has a more than solid chance of allowing them to emulate Jack’s father Mick who won the race with Samitar in 2012.
“Though we do have to take on a certain Mr O’Brien,” Jack concluded.
I replied: “Don’t do yourself down. You never know, at Ballydoyle, they’ll have seen the Fred Darling and may be saying ‘We have some high-class fillies to run, but we also have to take on that pesky Mr Channon and Opulence’.”
We all laughed, but I have to say that considering how well Team Channon and Team Opulence are going many considerably stranger things have happened.
It’s great to hear that a large squad of owners is going over to Ireland: best of luck all round.