Out of luck in the Irish 2,000 Guineas on Friday, Coolmore hit back in devastating fashion in the Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh on Saturday, as Peaceful led home a 1-2-3 in the silks of Michael Tabor.
Albigna, racing for the Niarchos family and Jessica Harrington, a partnership that took the prize in 2018 with Alpha Centauri, was a warm favourite having scored at the highest level as a juvenile, but the daughter of Zoffany failed to figure at the business end as Coolmore runners dominated the finish.
Peaceful, under Seamie Heffernan, was never far from the lead and when asked to put the race to bed a furlong from home she quickened up smartly to score by two lengths from the fast-finishing Fancy Blue, with So Wonderful a head away in third.
Aidan O’Brien, successful with Love in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier this month, was responsible for the first and third while his son Donnacha, in his first season with a licence, sent out Fancy Blue, previously trained by his father. For good measure Joseph O’Brien trained the fourth home, New York Girl.
The race proved another illustration of the prowess of super-sire Galileo and in Peaceful and Love, he seemingly has the two outstanding three-year-old fillies seen in Europe this year.
Peaceful, a Coolmore homebred, is out of the Stravinsky mare Missvinski, a dual Listed winner in France and runner-up to Darjina in the Group 1 Prix d’Astarte when in the care of Jean-Claude Rouget.
Later transferred to America, Missvinski was purchased for $400,000 at Keeneland in January 2010. She has also bred the Listed-winning and Group 3-placed Easter.
Donnacha O’Brien can look forward to taking on the winner again with Fancy Blue, a daughter of the late Japanese stallion Deep Impact, while So Wonderful is by War Front, who stands at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky.
Coolmore enjoyed a wonderful day at the Curragh with three other winners, taking the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes with Magic Wand, the Group 3 Gladness Stakes with Lancaster House and supplying another 1-2-3 in the three-year-old fillies’ maiden.
All four winners were trained by Aidan O’Brien, ridden by Seamie Heffernan – and sired by Galileo.
