Irish raider Lady Iman justified 11/8 favouritism with a smooth display in the G3 HKJC World Pool Molecomb Stakes for Ger Lyons and Ryan Moore.
The daughter of Starman proved well suited by the drop back to the minimum trip, having lost her unbeaten record when second to Ballydoyle filly Beautify in a six-furlong G2 at the Curragh last time.
Having travelled nicely into the race towards the far side, Lady Iman put the race to bed with a smart change of gear and went on to win by a length and a half. Newmarket Listed winner Argentine Tango (11/) was second, with Windsor Castle Stakes runner-up Dickensian (11/1) third.
Lady Iman gains a guaranteed start in the $1 million G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, a race Lyons won last year with Magnum Force.
Lyons said: “The Breeders’ Cup is where I’d like to go, but I don’t own her. We won it last year with Magnum Force, and as Ryan just said, if Lady Iman gets a low draw at Del Mar, she wins it – she’s proper.
“I went there last year and I can promise you I never got a thrill like it. It is not all about me, I don’t own this horse but, if I can dance on that dancefloor again, I’m going as that is what racing is about for me. What an end of a season. What a show they put on and to be part of it and to win it, wow. I promise you if I can get a taste of that again, I’ll be there.
“I don’t like taking on the older horses, but you’ve got to listen to the experts. Ryan says the Nunthorpe too, but I wouldn’t know the Nunthorpe if it bit me on the arse. If that’s what the owners want to do…we’ll get her home first.
“Lady Iman is pretty straightforward but I dropped the ball. I say I dropped the ball, but she was doing everything I asked of her, and it took a good horse of Aidan’s [Beautify] to beat her over six furlongs the last day. I genuinely don’t think that man has trained better than he is this year. His horses are stepping forward from race to race like I’ve never seen before, and that’s not fluke, that’s pure talent. He’s got some cracking two-year-olds and that Queen Mary winner [True Love], which we beat, she’s a proper racehorse and to see the size of her, the scope of her and the temperament of her. I am walking into these monsters day in and day out, so it’s nice to get this win.
“I really feel for Colin [Keane, her suspended regular rider] today though, as he’s not a whip man. The day they put a number on the whip they opened a new bag of worms and ruined it. That’s not who he is. It is a huge slap on the wrist for him, but he will learn from it.”
Ryan Moore said: “Lady Iman has been held in high regard. She has shown very good form and is a very fast filly. She was cantering all over the back of them at the two and I ended up getting there too early, but I didn’t want to be taking her back and then something go wrong.
“She is a smart filly and it’s great to ride Ger a winner. She would be good enough for that race [Breeders’ Cup Turf Juvenile Sprint] if she got a good draw, and she’d be well able to win it. Obviously, if you go over there you need things to go in your favour as well.”
Assistant trainer William Easterby said of Argentine Tango: “She is a superstar and tough as old boots. Her attitude is unbelievable. You wouldn’t be afraid to run her anywhere because she tries so hard. She is not slow but we were not sure about coming back to five furlongs. The winner quickened past her and she stuck on again. She gets her attitude from her father, Mattmu. He was the same, he never gave up. Even when he was third in the 2015 Nunthorpe Stakes, he was outpaced but kept galloping. Argentine Tango is in the Lowther Stakes, so that would be the obvious way to go.’’
Dickensian’s jockey Shane Gray said: “It was another solid run. The ground was probably a little slow for him and he lost a bit of kick at the end, but he is a very genuine horse.’’