Inspiral (horse)

Last updated

Inspiral
Owner Cheveley Park Stud.svg
Racing silks of Cheveley Park Stud
Sire Frankel
Grandsire Galileo
DamStarscope
Damsire Selkirk
SexFilly
Foaled (2019-03-14) 14 March 2019 (age 4) [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
Colour Bay
Breeder Cheveley Park Stud
OwnerCheveley Park Stud
Trainer John Gosden & Thady Gosden
Record13: 9-2-0
Earnings US$3,639,932 [2]
Major wins
Star Stakes (2021)
May Hill Stakes (2021)
Fillies' Mile (2021)
Coronation Stakes (2022)
Prix Jacques Le Marois (2022, 2023)
Sun Chariot Stakes (2023)
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (2023)
Awards
Cartier Champion Two-year-old Filly (2021)
Timeform rating: 125
Last updated on 7 November 2023

Inspiral (foaled 14 March 2019) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She was one of the leading two-year-olds in Europe in 2021 when she was unbeaten in four races, including the Fillies' Mile. As a three-year-old she won the Coronation Stakes and the Prix Jacques Le Marois, which she retained as a four-year-old in 2023 as well as winning the Sun Chariot Stakes. In November of that year, Inspiral won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Contents

Background

Inspiral is a bay filly with a white blaze bred and owned by the Newmarket-based Cheveley Park Stud. She was sent into training with John and Thady Gosden at Clarehaven Stables.

She was from the sixth crop of foals sired by Frankel, an undefeated racehorse whose other progeny have included Cracksman, Adayar, Soul Stirring and Hurricane Lane. [3] Inspiral's dam Starscope won only one minor race but was a top-class performer who finished second in both the 1000 Guineas and the Coronation Stakes. [4] Starscope's dam Moon Goddess was a half-sister to Medicean and a descendant of the broodmare Life Hill, making her a distant relative of Sherluck and Caro. [5]

Racing career

2021: two-year-old season

Inspiral made her track debut in a maiden race over seven furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse on 26 June when she was ridden by Robert Havlin and started the 2/1 joint-favourite. After starting slowly she made steady progress in the last quarter mile, gained the advantage in the closing stages and won by one and a half lengths from Ardbraccan and Calm Skies. [6] Frankie Dettori took over from Havlin when the filly was stepped up in class and started favourite for the Listed Star Stakes at Sandown Park on 22 July. After being restrained in the early stages Inspiral went to the front approaching the final furlong and drew away to win "comfortably" by three and a half lengths from Wild Beauty (later to win the Natalma Stakes). [7] John Gosden commented "She's always been a classy filly. She'd done normal work at home on the bridle and won very nicely at Newmarket... She’s never been in front like that before, so she's done well... She'd shown a lot of ability and I thought she'd enjoy the track here. She'll have no problem getting a mile... she has a big frame, so she doesn't want over-racing this year." [8]

On 9 September at Doncaster Racecourse Inspiral went off at odds of 2/9 for the Group 2 May Hill Stakes over one mile on good to firm ground. She tracked the leaders before going to the front inside the last quarter mile and won "readily" by three and three quarter lengths from Prosperous Voyage despite being eased down by Dettori near the finish. [9] After the race Thady Gosden said "She’s done it very well. Obviously there were a few good fillies in the race and the ground was probably a bit too quick for her, but she showed plenty of class. She an exceptional filly, but if you see her walking around here she’s still got plenty of growing to do, so we’d be hopeful she’ll progress through the winter." [10]

For her final run of the season Inspiral was moved up to Group 1 class for the Fillies' Mile at Newmarket on 8 October when she was again partnered by Dettori. She started the 8/11 favourite in a nine-runner field which also included Wild Beauty, Prosperous Voyage, Mise En Scene (Prestige Stakes), Concert Hall (Weld Park Stakes), Magical Lagoon (Flame of Tara Stakes) and Majestic Glory (Sweet Solera Stakes). After racing towards the rear of the field in the early stages she took the lead approaching the final furlong and pulled away to win by two and a half lengths with Prosperous Voyage taking second place again. [11] John Gosden said "Inspiral is improving with her racing and was pretty professional today. She's a big girl but she's getting stronger all the time. We'll see how she comes through the winter as regards to next year but if we have a cold one with those east winds we could go straight for the 1000 Guineas. She'll get a mile and a quarter no problem." [12]

On 10 November Inspiral was named Champion Two-year-old Filly at the Cartier Racing Awards. [13]

Statistics

DateDistanceRaceGrade/
Group
TrackOddsFieldFinishWinning
Time
Winning
(Losing)
Margin
JockeyRef
2021 two-year-old season
26 Jun 2021Maiden Newmarket 811:27.09 Robert Havlin [14]
22 Jul 2021 Star Stakes Sandown Park 911:28.17 Frankie Dettori [15]
9 Sep 2021 May Hill Stakes Doncaster 611:37.47 Frankie Dettori [16]
8 Oct 2021 Fillies' Mile Newmarket 911:38.44 Frankie Dettori [17]
2022 three-year-old season
17 Jun 2022 Coronation Stakes Royal Ascot 1211:40.70 Frankie Dettori [18]
8 Jul 2022 Falmouth Stakes Newmarket 521:36.03 Frankie Dettori [19]
14 Aug 2022 Prix Jacques Le Marois Deauville 911:34.07 Frankie Dettori [20]
15 Oct 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Ascot 961:45.53 Frankie Dettori [21]
2023 four-year-old season
20 Jun 2023 Queen Anne Stakes Royal Ascot 1221:40.70 Frankie Dettori [22]
2 Aug 2023 Sussex Stakes Goodwood 551:47.16 Frankie Dettori [23]
13 Aug 2023 Prix Jacques Le Marois Deauville 1111:36.62 Frankie Dettori [24]
7 Oct 2023 Sun Chariot Stakes Newmarket 811:35.65 Frankie Dettori [25]
4 Nov 2023 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf Santa Anita 1211:59.06 Frankie Dettori [26]

Notes:
An (*) asterisk after the odds means Inspiral was the post-time favorite.

    Pedigree

    Pedigree of Inspiral (GB), bay filly, 2019 [1]
    Sire
    Frankel (GB)
    2008
    Galileo (IRE)
    1998
    Sadler's Wells (USA) Northern Dancer (CAN)
    Fairy Bridge
    Urban Sea (USA) Miswaki
    Allegretta (GB)
    Kind (IRE)
    2001
    Danehill (USA) Danzig
    Razyana
    Rainbow Lake (GB)Rainbow Quest (USA)
    Rockfest (USA)
    Dam
    Starscope (GB)
    2009
    Selkirk (USA)
    1988
    Sharpen Up (GB)Atan (USA)
    Rocchetta
    Annie Edge (IRE) Nebbiolo (GB)
    Friendly Court
    Moon Goddess (GB)
    1998
    Rainbow Quest (USA) Blushing Groom (FR)
    I Will Follow
    Mystic Goddess (USA) Storm Bird (CAN)
    Rose Goddess (IRE) (Family: 3-o) [5]

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gosden</span> British horse trainer

    John Harry Martin Gosden is a British racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Derby, the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse. He has over 600 winners in the United States.

    Fallen For You is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After winning on her racecourse debut she finished second in the May Hill Stakes before finishing fifth in the Fillies' Mile. She began her three-year-old racing on synthetic tracks, winning a minor race at Kempton before returning to the turf to record her biggest win in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. She was retired from racing at the end of the year.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Shalaa</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

    Shalaa is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2015 he was beaten on his debut but won his next five races including the July Stakes, Richmond Stakes, Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes. His second season was badly disrupted by injury, although he did win the Bengough Stakes.

    White Moonstone is an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In a racing career which lasted from July until October 2010 she was undefeated in four races of increasing importance. After winning a maiden race on her debut she won the Group Three Sweet Solera Stakes, the Group Two May Hill Stakes and the Group One Fillies' Mile. She suffered training problems in the early part of the following year and was retired without racing again. She has produced at least one foal.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Enable (horse)</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

    Enable is a champion British Thoroughbred racehorse who won 15 of her 19 races, including 11 Group One races. Her biggest wins include the Breeders' Cup Turf, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Epsom Oaks, Irish Oaks, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Eclipse Stakes and Yorkshire Oaks. Enable was the 2017 and 2019 European Horse of the Year.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Cracksman (horse)</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire

    Cracksman is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won his only race as a two-year-old in 2016 before developing into a top-class middle distance performer in the following year. As a three-year-old Cracksman won the Investec Derby Trial before running third when favourite for the 2017 Epsom Derby. The horse then finished runner-up in the Irish Derby. He went on to win the Great Voltigeur Stakes and Prix Niel, before recording an emphatic success in the Champion Stakes. He ended the year as the top-rated three-year-old in the world. In 2018, he won the Prix Ganay and the Coronation Cup before taking a second Champion Stakes.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Persuasive (horse)</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

    Persuasive is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning her only race as a juvenile she ran up four consecutive wins in the following season including the Sandringham Handicap and the Atalanta Stakes before her winning streak was ended by Alice Springs in the Matron Stakes. In 2017 she was placed in both the Matron Stakes and the Sun Chariot Stakes before recording her most significant victory when she became the first horse of her age and sex in more than 40 years to take the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Too Darn Hot (horse)</span> Thoroughbred racehorse

    Too Darn Hot is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a short racing career lasting less than a year he ran nine times and won six of his races, including three at the highest Group 1 level. As a two-year-old in 2018 he was rated the best of his generation in Europe, winning the Solario Stakes, Champagne Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes. He was beaten when favourite or joint-favourite in his first three races in 2019 but returned to form when winning the Prix Jean Prat and Sussex Stakes in the summer. His career was ended by an injury sustained during his final race.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Anapurna (horse)</span> British Thoroughbred racehorse

    Anapurna is a British Thoroughbred racehorse, best known for winning the 2019 Epsom Oaks. After finishing unplaced on her only start as a juvenile she won a minor race on her three-year-old debut and went on to win the Lingfield Oaks Trial before winning the Oaks on her fourth start. She took a second Group 1 success later that year when she won the Prix de Royallieu.

    Coronet is a British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2016 she won both of her races including the Listed Zetland Stakes. In the following year her only win came in the Ribblesdale Stakes but she also finished second in the Yorkshire Oaks, third in the Prix Saint-Alary and the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes and fourth in the Irish Oaks. As a four-year-old she won the Middleton Stakes and was placed in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Yorkshire Oaks, British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. She had her greatest success as a five-year-old when she recorded Group 1 victories in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and Prix Jean Romanet.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Logician (horse)</span> British Thoroughbred racehorse

    Logician is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was unraced as a two-year-old in 2018 but in the following year he established himself as a top-class performer as he won all five of his races including the Great Voltigeur Stakes and the St Leger Stakes. He recovered from a life-threatening bout of peritonitis in December 2019 and won one minor race before sustaining his first defeat in the Cumberland Lodge Stakes.

    Star Catcher is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She ran sixth in her only run as a two-year-old in 2018 and showed promise in the following spring when she won on her seasonal debut and then finished third in the Fillies' Trial Stakes. Star Catcher then established herself as a top-class performer with wins in the Ribblesdale Stakes, Irish Oaks, Prix Vermeille and British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord North (horse)</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

    Lord North is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning his only race as a juvenile in 2018 he won again on his three-year-old debut but ran poorly on his next start and was subsequently gelded. He returned to the track in the autumn of 2019 and recorded victories in the Cambridgeshire Handicap and the James Seymour Stakes. The gelding made further progress in 2020 when he won the Brigadier Gerard Stakes and the Prince of Wales's Stakes.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mishriff</span> Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse

    Mishriff is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing some promise when winning one minor race as a two-year-old in 2019 he emerged as a top-class middle-distance performer in the following year, recording victories in the Newmarket Stakes, Prix du Jockey Club and Prix Guillaume d'Ornano. In the spring of 2021 he was campaigned internationally and won the second running of the Saudi Cup on dirt and the Dubai Sheema Classic on turf. On returning to Europe he was placed in both the Eclipse Stakes and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes before winning the International Stakes. As of August 2022 he has earned the equivalent of over £11 million pounds in prize money.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother Earth (horse)</span> Irish Thoroughbred racehorse

    Mother Earth is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year old in 2020 she ran eight times, winning the Fillies' Sprint Stakes and finishing placed in the Albany Stakes, Airlie Stud Stakes, Debutante Stakes, Fillies' Mile and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. On her first run of 2021 she won the 1000 Guineas.

    Loving Dream is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning the second of her two starts as a two-year-old in 2020 she excelled over long and extended distances in the following year, winning the Ribblesdale Stakes in England and the Prix de Royallieu in France.

    Robert Havlin, usually known as Rab Havlin, is a Group 1-winning Scottish jockey, who predominantly rides for the John Gosden stable. His biggest victory to date has been the 2022 Fillies' Mile on Commissioning, but he has also won at Royal Ascot - the 2016 Windsor Castle Stakes with Ardad and the 2021 Ribblesdale Stakes with Loving Dream.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Thady Gosden</span> British horse trainer

    Thady Gosden is a British racehorse trainer He has trained over 300 winners worldwide, including winners of the Oaks, the British Champions Fillies' and Mares' Stakes, the Ascot Gold Cup, the Dubai Sheema Classic and the Prix Jacques Le Marois.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Soul Sister (horse)</span> Irish Thoroughbred racehorse

    Soul Sister is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. She won her only race as a juvenile in 2022 and made good progress in the following year to win the Musidora Stakes and the Epsom Oaks.

    Emily Upjohn is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning her only race as a two-year-old she emerged as a top-class performer in the following season, winning the Musidora Stakes and looking an unlucky loser in the Epsom Oaks before taking the Group 1 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes. On her first run as a four-year-old she won the Coronation Cup.

    References

    1. 1 2 "Inspiral pedigree". Equineline.
    2. "Profile of Inspiral (GB)". Equibase. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    3. "Frankel - Progeny". Racing Post.
    4. "Starscope; Race Record & Form". Racing Post.
    5. 1 2 "Thoroughbred Bloodlines – Black Corrie – Family 3-o". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
    6. "Close Brothers Maiden Fillies' Stakes result". Racing Post. 26 June 2021.
    7. "Star Stakes result". Racing Post. 22 July 2021.
    8. "Inspiral impresses under Dettori in Sandown's Star Stakes". Racing TV. 22 July 2021.
    9. "May Hill Stakes result". Racing Post. 9 September 2021.
    10. "Inspiral proves class with Cazoo May Hill Stakes win". ITV Racing. 9 September 2021.
    11. "Fillies' Mile result". Racing Post. 8 October 2021.
    12. Milnes, David (8 October 2021). "Inspiral Delights Dettori With Fillies' Mile Win". The Blood-Horse .
    13. Milnes, David (10 November 2021). "St Mark's Basilica voted horse of the year at annual ceremony in London". Racing Post.
    14. "Close Brothers Maiden Fillies' Stakes (GBB Race)". 26 June 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    15. "British Stallion Studs EBF Star Stakes (Listed Race) (Fillies)". Racing Post. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    16. "Cazoo May Hill Stakes (Group 2) (Fillies)". Racing Post. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    17. "bet365 Fillies' Mile (Group 1)". Racing Post. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    18. "Coronation Stakes (Group 1) (Fillies) (British Champions Series)". 17 June 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    19. "Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes (Group 1) (Fillies & Mares) (British Champions Series)". Racing Post. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    20. "Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (Group 1) (3yo+ No Geldings)". Racing Post. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    21. "Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Sponsored By Qipco) (Group 1) – Race 4". sportinglife.com. 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
    22. "Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) – Race 1". 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
    23. "Qatar Sussex Stakes (Group 1)". racingpost.com. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
    24. "Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (Group 1) (3yo+ No Geldings)". Racing Post. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    25. "Virgin Bet Sun Chariot Stakes (Group 1) (Fillies & Mares) (British Champions Series)". Racing Post. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    26. "2023 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf Grade 1 - (race 4)". Equibase. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.