Mohammed Al-Qatami and Khalid Al-Mudhaf’s LAHALEEB (Ire) (Redback) had been
dismissed by Rainbow View (Dynaformer) in their prior meetings back home in
England, but when stepping up to 1 1/4 miles for the first time in Saturday’s
$964,356
E. P. Taylor S. (Can-G1) at Woodbine, the Mick Channon trainee emphatically
turned the tables on the 2-1 favorite. In so doing, the 44-1 longest shot on the
board pulled the biggest upset in the 54-year history of the E. P. Taylor.
Lahaleeb rewarded her loyalists with payouts of $90.70, $32.90 and $12.80, and
entered calculations for the November 6 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1).
In the early going, Lahaleeb was content to race in sixth while the
locally-based hope Roses ‘n’ Wine (Broken Vow) carved out splits of :26 1/5 and
:50 2/5. An eager Treat Gently (GB) (Cape Cross [Ire]) put her head in front
through six furlongs in 1:14 3/5, and continued to hold a tenuous advantage as
she got one mile in 1:38 4/5. Rainbow View, who had always been forwardly
placed, accosted Treat Gently turning into the stretch, and the public’s choice
struck the front between calls.
Meanwhile, Lahaleeb was suddenly unwinding on the outside. Under the
up-and-coming young English rider William Buick, Lahaleeb produced a startling
turn of foot to inhale Rainbow View in midstretch and spring a colossal
surprise. Despite veering to her left, the bay sophomore held a comfortable 1
3/4-length margin at the wire and stopped the teletimer in 2:02 4/5 on firm
turf.
“It’s my first Group 1 (win), so it’s very special,” Buick said. “She had to
step over what she’s done. She’d had a long year back home but she was in top
form. I rode her on this track only two days ago, and I knew she was in great
form.”
“We kept it very simple,” said the trainer’s son, Michael Channon Jr. “We
just did exactly what we did at home. We didn’t do anything different. We didn’t
treat her with anything. She came very fresh. If you’d seen her in the paddock
beforehand, she did throw a few bucks and kicks in. We got it spot on. We can’t
believe it, especially for Mohammed Al-Qatami and Khalid Al-Mudhaf, who are
watching in Kuwait.”
Rainbow View returned $3.70 and $2.60 and completed the all-English $310
exactor. Princess Haya (Street Cry [Ire]) fared the best of the North Americans,
rallying from the tail of the field to finish a clear third. The 7-1 shot
crossed the wire 2 1/4 lengths adrift of Rainbow View and gave back $4.60.
Another English shipper, Eastern Aria (UAE) (Halling), came home a similar
margin back in fourth. The triactor totaled $1,712.40, and the 3-2-5-4
superfecta swelled to $24,828. Salve Germania (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) closed for
fifth, while Treat Gently, Look Here (GB) (Hernando [Fr]) and Roses ‘n’ Wine
rounded out the order of finish.
Lahaleeb was earning her first top-level victory, although she just missed by
a neck in the Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) in May. She was a busy
two-year-old last year, capping her nine-race campaign with a score in the
Rockfel S. (Eng-G2) at Newmarket. Lahaleeb also placed in the May Hill S.
(Eng-G2) and C. L. Weld Park S. (Ire-G3) as a juvenile.
Since opening 2009 with a narrow success in the Fred Darling S. (Eng-G3) at
Newbury, she had dropped five straight races at a mile. Lahaleeb was 10th in the
One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) before her close call in the Irish equivalent.
Fifth to Ghanaati (Giant’s Causeway) in the Coronation S. (Eng-G1) and eighth to
Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa) in the Prix Rothschild (Fr-G1), she was coming off a
fifth to older males in the Solonaway S. (Ire-G3) at the Curragh. With her
$577,920 windfall from the E. P. Taylor, Lahaleeb’s scorecard now stands at
16-5-2-1, $893,854.
Bred by Tom Twomey in Ireland, Lahaleeb was a $51,272 Goffs November weanling
and a $149,572 Tattersalls October yearling. She was produced by the unraced
Flames (Blushing Flame), making her a half-sister to English stakes victress
Precocious Star (Bold Fact).
This is the family of multiple Group 2 hero Pipedreamer (Selkirk) and
Lockinge S. (Eng-G1) winner Virtual (Pivotal), who were fourth and eighth,
respectively, in Saturday’s Champion S. (Eng-G1) at Newmarket. Other notable
family members include Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) victor and English
highweight Entrepreneur (Sadler’s Wells), and Coronation heroine Exclusive
(Polar Falcon), herself the dam of dual English highweight mare Echelon (Danehill)
and multiple Group 2 star Chic (Machiavellian).
Lahaleeb is not certain to accept her automatic spot in the starting gate for
the Filly & Mare Turf.
“The Breeders’ Cup would be a lovely thing, but we do think she needs a
little bit of a cut in the ground, which is why we came here really,” Channon
said. “So, we are not to sure really. It’s a question of one race at a time.”