Whirl and Ryan Moore (left) outbattle Kalpana and Colin Keane in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes (David Betts)
By Breandán Ó hUallacháin
Whirl (13/8) won a thrilling edition of the Group 1 Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes at The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland, on Saturday.
The main feature race on day two of the 3-day Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival at Irish flat racing’s headquarters, saw Aidan O’Brien win the race for the first time since the success of Magical in 2020.
Whirl, a battling runner-up to her stable companion, Minnie Hauk, in the Betfred Oaks over a mile and a half at Epsom, England, at the beginning of June, was running at a mile and a quarter this afternoon.
She started as second choice with bookmakers in the high-class seven-runner contest, with the English-trained raider Kalpana, the punters’ choice at 5/6 favourite.
When the stalls opened at the Waterford Post start, jockey Ryan Moore immediately asked Whirl to take the race lead. The daughter of Wootton Bassett was willing, and led or co-led the field for most of the race.
Moore asked the filly to press on as they entered the home stretch, but Kalpana soon loomed large and threateningly on her outside. Kalpana, a previous winner of five races from a mile and a furlong to a mile and a half, looked to be cruising in the hands of Juddmonte Farms’ newly appointed jockey Colin Keane.
Two brave fillies hit the one-eight pole with the race between them. Keane soon became anxious on the race favourite. With Whirl continuing to battle on the far rail, Moore soon moved ahead on the Coolmore partners-owned three-year-old.
The race result became clear within a number of strides as Whirl, carrying twelve pounds less than the four-year-old Kalpana, took a length and quarter out of the Andrew Balding-handled filly.
The French-trained Survie (18/1) passed the wire a further length and three-quarters behind the runner-up.
“Whirl is an incredible filly, she has just progressed and loves getting into a fight,” Aidan O’Brien admitted. “Obviously we saw that she stays one mile four furlongs at Epsom and she’s absolutely concrete. You are trying to spread the stamina out without stretched the elastic too long, so Ryan (Moore, winning jockey) got it spot on.
“She’s 100 percent homebred and by Wootton Bassett (a Coolmore Stud stalllion). Whirl can go anywhere now. She can come back her for the (Irish) Oaks and can go to the Nassau (Stakes at Goodwood, England).
“She’s an unusual filly. She’s tough and she’s not even blowing there, her nostrils weren’t even flaring. She’s obviously a very high class filly and it’s very exciting.”
When asked by the assembled media post-race about the decision to take the race lead from the stalls, the winning handler stated:
“Ryan gave Whirl a brilliant rider and got the fractions absolutely spot on, which is a difficult thing when you are running a mile and a half filly back at a mile and two furlongs.”
The Ballydoyle handler further explained their race plan, by adding:
“There was no point turning it into a sprint, so Ryan set her alight coming out of the gates and got the favourite to challenge. The two of them – with two great jockeys (Ryan Moore and Colin Keane), got together and as they say ‘let the best horse jump the ditch’ after that!
“Those kind of races are few and far between. What can I say about Ryan, day-in-day out he’s incredible.”
Whirl, the 15th Group 1 winner for Wootton Bassett, is the first winner for the Galileo mare, Salsa, who is a full-sister to Group 1 winners The United States, Hermosa and Hydrangea.
The win was a 150th Group 1 success for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore together.
