Empress Josephine scores a narrow victory in Sunday’s Irish 1,000 Guineas
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Empress Josephine (3 f ex Lillie Langtry by Danehill Dancer) provided her peerless sire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) with his 90th Group 1 winner, and 336th stakes winner, when she won Sunday’s Irish 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) at the Curragh.
Last seen finishing second in the Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes (Listed, 1m1.5f) at her third career start, Empress Josephine settled down in midfield in a slowly run race with the field led by No Speak Alexander (Shalaa). Under jockey Seamie Heffernan, Empress Josephine was taken down the middle of the track and got up in the final strides to score a short head victory over stablemate Joan Of Arc (Galileo), who was ridden by Ryan Moore.
The winner broke her maiden at Naas on debut on March 21 before finishing tenth in the 1,000 Guineas Trial (Gr 1, 7f) and will now likely head to the Coronation Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Royal Ascot next month.
"I'm delighted with them. We thought this filly (Empress Josephine) was very good after her maiden and we thought coming back to a mile and taking our time with her might suit,” said O’Brien who was winning the race for the tenth time.
"She's a seriously bred filly - she's a sister to Minding and unbelievable really. We'll see what the lads want to do but we could have a look at a Coronation with her.
"Ryan's filly (Joan Of Arc) ran a stormer as well. She might go to the French Oaks next time."
Empress Josephine is out of dual Group 1 winner Lillie Langtry (Danehill Dancer) who has produced three other winners in seven-time Group 1 winner Minding (Galileo) as well as Group 3 winner Kissed By Angels (Galileo) and winning filly Heaven On Earth (Galileo).
Her second dam is Hoity Toity (Darshaan) who in addition to Lillie Langtry produced Listed winner Count Of Limonade (Duke Of Marmalade).
The victory also provided the late Coolmore sire Danehill Dancer (Danehill) with his 15th Group 1 winner as a broodmare sire with his daughters now having produced 137 stakes winners, his 14th coming earlier in the day when the first Group 1 race on Sunday’s card at the Curragh was won by the Noel Meade-trained Helvic Dream (4 g ex Rachevie by Danehill Dancer) who provided his Oaklands Stud-based sire Power (Oasis Dream) with his first Group 1 winner when winning the Tattersalls Gold Cup (Gr 1, 1m2.5f).
Coming into the race having finished second to Broome (Australia) in the Mooresbridge Stakes (Gr 2, 1m2f) at the Curragh on May 3, Helvic Dream became the first Group 1 winner for his trainer when he turned the tables on Broome to get the better of the Aidan O’Brien-trained favourite by a short head. True Self (Oscar) was another length away in third.
"I'm thrilled. I've been second in the Guineas twice and placed in Classics and Group 1s, fourth in the Epsom Derby, but that's the first Group 1 winner. It means a lot,” said Meade.
"There have been plenty of people trying to buy him, but thanks to the lads – they kept faith in me. I said to them at the end of last year that maybe we could have a chance of going abroad, there's plenty of places we could go with him.
"Tom Hendron [joint-owner] sent me up a list of the four races he's run in this season. We said we'd go there and hope the ground would come right for us. You'd never think you were going to get soft ground on a day like today."
Bought for just €12,000 by Peter Nolan Bloodstock at the 2018 Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, Helvic Dream is one of two winners out of Rachevie (Danehill Dancer), the other being Flirting Bridge (Camelot) who finished third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas Trial (Gr 3, 7f) earlier this month.
