One of Wathnan Racing’s pre-Royal Ascot purchases Earth Shot (4/1) proved an instant hit as she got up in the final strides of the G2 Ribblesdale Stakes.
Lady Roisia unshipped Hector Crouch coming out of the stalls, after which she led the field and wandered around at the top of the home straight, forcing Earth Shot to challenge widest of all.
Johanna Walsh (9/1) had kicked off the home turn and looked set for victory until the final half-furlong, when James Doyle galvanised Earth Shot to get up on the line. The verdict was a head, with a length back to French challenger Gilded Prize (5/1) in third.
Trained by William Haggas, Earth Shot changed ownership after finishing a head second in the Listed Height Of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood.
Haggas said: “I was wary of the favourite, obviously, and the French filly before the race. I am delighted with Earth Shot — I thought she did very well. We won a Ribblesdale [with Mont Etoile], which was bred by Tony Hirschfeld and Lester [Piggott], my father-in-law. He told Michael Hills not to leave the fence. If you ever get a chance to watch it, it’s probably black and white, but he never left the fence and got up on the line at 25/1 — it was a Montjeu filly.
“I thought Earth Shot possibly should have won at Goodwood. She has always been a beautiful filly and I’ve always said she wants soft ground. Fair play to William Buick — she ran second to another one of ours last year in a maiden, and William Buick said ‘she’s pretty good’, and they all say he knows what he’s talking about. We always had hopes she would be good and, I guess, for a middle-distance filly, winning the Ribblesdale is second best to winning the Oaks. It is a hell of a prize to win.
“James and I go back a long way. He used to ride for us before he went to Godolphin, and he’s an excellent rider and a very nice man.”
Doyle said: “Earth Shot helped me out a lot. When there’s a loose horse involved, you’re obviously hostage to fortune a bit. I found a lovely, relaxed rhythm; she is that way. She looks at things and takes it all in in a good way, so she saves plenty.
“When we got to the turn, she started to zoom into it really good. I was up behind Ryan, and the loose horse must have swerved out, because Ryan swerved and I had to swerve because I was close to his heels. I lost a good bit of momentum there and had to regather her momentum a couple of times up the straight. But once she got organised, she really stuck her neck out.
“This is a meeting we always target and we know how important it is to have winners here, but we also know how humbling it can be. We’ve had lots of good chances over the past couple of days and fell a long way short, not just short, so it really does put manners on you, and you really do have to take it in when you get a winner on the board here. You have to really enjoy it.”
Joseph O’Brien said of Johanna Walsh: “It was a messy enough race with the loose horse; the loose horse probably interfered with us a bit, and the winner was probably affected as much as we were. We are very proud of her run, delighted for Wells [Watson] who owns her, and Andrew who bought her. She is a daughter of Sea The Stars and has a lovely pedigree. Her best days are ahead of her.”
Reflecting on his successful week so far, he added: “You always come here hopeful and confident with your own horses, then you find that everything goes wrong and you go home with your tail between your legs! The horses have been in great shape and they’ve all been running great. We have a great team of people at home, jockeys and owners who support us as well. It’s a real privilege to come here and be able to come into the winner’s enclosure.”
Oisin Murphy said of Gilded Prize: “Super run. She got a lovely trip inside and it opened up nicely for her. It was a bit messy late on with the loose horse and Dylan’s horse wandering about, but she had every chance.”