George Washington filly has date with destiny
A Friday evening card at Newbury, crammed between the July meeting at Newmarket and Saturday fixtures at Ascot and York, could be expected to pass almost unnoticed.
Just another anonymous collection of races among the 1,503 dots on this year’s fixture list, except that one filly’s debut was always going to make this meeting news. Breeding is about as inexact a science as it is possible to get and was best summed up by the description that “you breed the best to the best and hope for the best”.
However, rarity always makes the commodity more precious and Date With Destiny, the only foal sired by George Washington, who runs in the first race at Newbury is certainly a rare one.
Ever since this bay filly was foaled in February 2008 it was her destiny to maintain her sire’s name. George Washington, who had originally been retired to stud as champion miler and regarded as one of the Coolmore Stud’s most promising sires, had already been returned to racing with Aidan O’Brien due to fertility problems.
By the time Date With Destiny was foaled he was dead after breaking down in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Monmouth Park four months previously.
In his racing career George Washington (pictured) mixed temperament with brilliance which was never more amply demonstrated than the day that he won the 2000 Guineas in 2006.
He was difficult for O’Brien to tack up in the saddling box, hard to load into the starting stalls, not much easier for Kieren Fallon to pull up and then refused to walk into the winner’s enclosure. But in between all of that George Washington produced 96.86 seconds of sheer brilliance to beat Sir Percy, who would go on to win that year’s Derby, by two-and-a-half lengths.
Date With Destiny is out of the French mare Flawlessly, a maiden from 16 starts and a half-sister to the successful jumps sire Video Rock. She first passed through a sales ring in November 2008 when she topped the Goffs November Foal Sale, selling to Ger Burke, for Glidawn Stud, for the week's top price of €280,000.
Burke then consigned the still unnamed filly to the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales the following October where he found himself having to organise something closer to a Hollywood film star’s interview diary rather than a horse’s sale. Showing a horse to perspective buyers is nothing unusual but there was a queue forming outside her box with everyone from television crews to fans of her father wanting a sight of his progeny.
By the time the filly entered the ring at around 6.45pm it was standing-room only, but pin-drop quiet. These are the moments that every auctioneer relishes and John O'Kelly got a laugh when, after previous lot passed through, he said: “the sale is now over - see you tomorrow ladies and gentlemen.”
His attempts to get a major price were less successful. His opening gambit of 500,000gns fell on stony ground and his sights had dropped considerably by the time he got a bid at 100,000gns. Eamonn Reilly, of BBA Ireland, and Julian Dollar, from the Newells Park Stud, were the early interest but then it developed into a battle of the chequebooks between Charlie Gordon-Watson, who went as far as 310,000gns, and Ross Doyle, who added 10,000gns to that figure to claim the filly.
She was purchased on behalf of owner Julie Wood and sent to Richard Hannon and the trainer is now ready to see if it was money well spent. As he said on his website: “We feel privileged to have such a high-profile filly in the team, and all credit to Julie for stumping up the 320,000gns for the only one of the Guineas winner's produce to have come under the hammer.
“We’ve taken our time with Date With Destiny and we were always going to wait for the seven furlong races. We hope that she has the ability of George, but she certainly has a better temperament as she is so placid, and she is the most gorgeous mover. She did a nice piece of work on Tuesday, coming up the gallop and it will be great to get her started. She’s done everything right so far."
But now is when he finds out if destiny really is about to call.
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