Sun Goddess brilliant in Harry’s Half Million

Top 2yo Sun Goddess backed up her recent win in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes with a gutsy display to land the Harry’s Half Million by Goffs for the Coolmore partners and Aidan O’Brien at York on Thursday.

Racing on the slowest ground she’s encountered, Sun Goddess hit a wall of horses two furlongs out but once extricated by Ryan Moore, showed an exceptional turn of foot to quicken clear and win as she pleased by six lengths.

“She’s a Group 1 winner,” said Ryan Moore. “She is very professional. She just got pushed out among them, but she won easily. It’s not ideal when you get a trip like that.”

Her win came only 11 days following her success over colts in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh. Purchased by Avenue Bloodstock on behalf of M V Magnier from her breeder Owenstown Stud at last year’s Goffs Premier Sale in Doncaster, she looked a smart prospect early on when breaking her maiden at the Irish Guineas meeting. She subsequently ran a fine second in a 25-runner Group 3 Albany Stakes before landing a deserved stakes success in the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes en route to her Phoenix Stakes victory.

“She’s obviously a very good filly, we’ve seen what she’s done every run,” said Aidan O’Brien. “We weren’t sure about the soft ground and we weren’t sure about going seven furlongs, which is why we decided to come here, just in case she didn’t get the trip in the Moyglare.

“Ryan gave her a chance early, that’s the way you ride her, and they went very fast. In Ascot she ended up getting there a bit earlier than we wanted. She’s a very classy filly, she was bought in the sales for this race and it’s a great initiative really. The plan was that she might go for the Moyglare. We have Alpha running at the weekend and she could go to the Moyglare. This filly could go, but I think she’s a Cheveley Park filly isn’t she?

“She could go to the Breeders’ Cup if you wanted. Fast ground would be no problem and it looks like a mile shouldn’t be any problem to her.

Sun Goddess races for Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Westerberg. She was bred by Owenstown Stud out of the Starspangledbanner mare Etoile Bleu, a half-sister to Group 2 winner Gibraltar Blue from the immediate family of the recent Group 1 Prix Jean Prat winner Thesecretadversary.

Sun Goddess’ record now reads four wins in six starts for just over £600,000 in earnings.