A remarkably few international days for Cotai Glory was capped on Saturday in Louisiana with the victory of Spirit And Glory in the Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds.
The mare's win came hot on the heels of former Tally-Ho breezer Kerindia in the Oryx Cup in Qatar and Redstone Well in the Ranvet Handicap at Randwick in Australia.
From the first crop of Cotai Glory, Spirit And Glory is now the winner of five races for earnings of almost $400,000. A maiden winner for Michael Mulvany at Dundalk, she won the Woodford Reserve Virginia Oaks not long after her switch Stateside and last year's Miss Liberty Stakes as a four-year-old. Having come into the Albert M. Stall off a good second in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap for trainer Robert Falcone, she was impressive in victory on Saturday, quickening clear up the rail for an easy win.
“I thought this would be a really good spot for her off the layoff,” Falcone said. “I liked the longer stretch on this turf course, like Colonial when she ran well. I say that even though the race played out today that we wished it wasn’t as long. That’s how it is in horse racing. Nothing will ever go perfectly but today things worked out well.”
Jockey Flavien Prat added: "She jumped out of the gate well. Doing that, we were able to get into a good position. Down the lane, I kept asking her to run and she kept finding more.”
Spirit And Glory was bred by Dr Noel Cogan and Patrick Williams out of the winning Invincible Spirit mare Supreme Spirit.
Cotai Glory stands for €12,500.
