The holiday weekend was a remarkable one for Coolmore associates, who swept all three group I events at the Irish Guineas meet.
In the Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-I), the Pivotal filly Halfway to Heaven chose a good spot to capture her first stakes event. Halfway to Heaven is one of six stakes winners from the current 3-year-old crop sired by Cheveley Park's star sire Pivotal, others including the French Two Thousand Guineas (Fr-I) winner Falco. Rated A++ by TrueNicks, Halfway to Heaven is out of a mare by Indian Ridge, and the success of the cross was presaged by stakes winners Morena Park and Crucial, who are by Pivotal out of mares by Indian Ridge's sire, Ahonoora.
In the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-I), Henrythenavigator, who had narrowly won the English Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-I) from New Approach (by Coolmore sire Galileo). The B rated Henrythenavigator is a product of the famed Kingmambo/Sadler's Wells cross. Kingmambo also features in the pedigree of Duke of Marmalade, who carried the colors of Mrs. John Magnier to victory in the Tattersalls Gold Cup (Eng-I), his second group I win in two starts this year. Out of the Kingmambo mare Love Me True, a three-parts-sister to Lemon Drop Kid, the 4-year-old son of Danehill is rated A+ as a product of the Danehill/Mr. Prospector cross.
Coolmore's cup of joy was topped off when last year's French Two Thousand Guineas winner, Astronomer Royal, shortened up to six furlongs to capture the Greenlands Stakes (Eng-I), despite having to hump 10 stone (140 lbs.). From the last crop of Danzig, Astronomer Royal is out of the Easy Goer mare Sheepscot. He is rated A+ by TrueNicks.