Frankel’s Snow Lantern a New Rising Star

[Wandering Eyes]

Newbury's card-opening Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Maiden S. over a mile saw a new TDN Rising Star emerge as Rockcliffe Stud's homebred Snow Lantern (GB) (Frankel {GB}) cut a dash in the country's best-contested race of its type so far this season. Entered in the G1 1000 Guineas in three weeks' time that her illustrious dam Sky Lantern (Ire) (Red Clubs {Ire}) captured in 2013, the grey was second-best in the betting at 3-1 behind Juddmonte's Derab (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), the John and Thady Gosden-trained half-brother to Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). Always travelling with enthusiasm tracking the pace under Sean Levey, the grey took command approaching the final furlong and galloped relentlessly to the line to beat that 11-8 market-leader by 1 3/4 lengths, with Fantastic Fox (GB) (Frankel {GB}) a short head behind in third as the three class acts drew away from the rest.

Trainer Richard Hannon was keen to plead the case to the owner-breeders to take a chance in the Newmarket Classic and said, “She's been working great and I always thought she was a very good filly. She's very highly-strung, but behaved lovely there and I haven't enjoyed watching a race like that for a long time. I was expecting her to be keen, but she did it beautifully and Sean said her stride pattern is not normal. Hopefully she's a little bit special and it is more relief that I feel today. I'm very tempted to go for the Guineas–there's only one and although the breeder had said they don't want to go into the deep end I'll discuss it with them next week. The mare won two group 1s on the Rowley Mile and she's a very clever filly who works things out for herself. She has the lot and how far she goes we'll see throughout the year, but if she goes to the top it wouldn't surprise me.”

The post Frankel’s Snow Lantern a New Rising Star appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article