Cercene delivers Australian Stafford ‘biggest thrill’ of his life as filly springs surprise in Coronation Stakes
Australia’s (Galileo) impressive month of results continued apace when his daughter Cercene (3 f ex Tschierschen by Acclamation), who is owned by Australian Shane Stafford, sprang a shock in Friday’s Coronation Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Royal Ascot.
Coolmore’s resident son of Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) kicked off June in the best possible style when Lambourn landed the Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) at Epsom and on Friday the Joseph G Murphy-trained filly added to her sire’s record, which saw his total Group 1 win tally swell to seven.
Sent off at 33-1, Cercene had produced some good performances this season without winning, finishing third in the “Priory Belle” Stakes (Gr 3, 7f) before coming home in second in another Group 3 at the Curragh, and was last seen running a solid third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) behind Lake Victoria (Frankel) last month.
Ridden by Gary Carroll, the filly stayed on strongly to beat controversial French 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Zarigana (Siyouni) by half a length, with another length back to January (Kingman) in third.
Queensland-based Stafford enjoyed a Listed winner at another Ascot, the one in Perth, when Cashel Palace (Street Boss) landed the Sir Ernest Lee-Steere Classic (Listed, 1400m) last November, and said winning the Coronation Stakes at the Royal version of Ascot was the ‘biggest thrill’ of his life.
“I am from Queensland where we race horses for three or four thousand dollars and it’s the biggest thrill of my whole life,” Stafford said.
“I bought some property in Ireland, sold my cattle property in Australia. The filly has been doing really well and we have received a large offer for her and I didn’t want the Murphys to lose the horse, so I bought an extra share and we have been rewarded. I am overcome, it’s hard to talk.
“I am deeply saddened that some of my family couldn’t make it but we have a new granddaughter in Australia and my lovely wife is helping there so I have had to do it alone. I have so many messages and missed calls from Australia.
“I have had full faith in this filly I must say and I have met some lovely people through the horse. I had a runner yesterday with Joseph O’Brien, Waterford Flow, and he ran ninth [dead-heated] in the King George V.
“This is by far my best win. I did win a Listed race in Perth in November with a horse called Cashel Palace, but this is by far the biggest win. We are country people and we race in the bush and to be here is unbelievable.”
It was a first Group 1 victory for both Murphy and Carroll, 35, a two-time former champion apprentice in Ireland.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Carroll. “I’ve been riding a long time now and I’ve been placed in plenty of Group 1s but this is my first one. If I was ever to ride a Group 1 winner it was to be for Joe Murphy, I’ve been riding for him since I was a 7lb claimer.
“He’s been very, very good to me. I’m delighted to repay him. Good horses are very hard to come by. To do this at Royal Ascot is magic.”
Murphy added: “It’s 50 years of work by the family, going from a small yard, switching from National Hunt to Flat and and always believing that buying horses and believing that they’re going to be good.
“It’s a lifetime’s ambition to have a Group 1 winner. She’s by Australia – a sire I love – and her half-brother won the Britannia, so the pedigree was there and if she was an inch bigger I wouldn’t have her. I was hoping Lake Victoria stayed because we’d have a lesser race and then we’d have place and ride her easier you know what I mean.
“She travelled well, Gary gave her a great ride, and we were thinking that being by Australia she’d stay as well. She was headed and came back again. She waited for something to head her but she’s very tough and a dream to train. The plan was today so now we’ll draw new plans.”