The Platinum Queen, bred and sold as a breezer by us at Tally-Ho Stud, ran out the brilliant winner of the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp on Sunday to provide Cotai Glory with a Group 1 success. In the process, the Middleham Park Racing-owned filly became the first two-year-old to win the prestigious sprint since Sigy back in 1978.
The Platinum Queen is also the second Group 1 winner in as many weeks to emerge out of our 2022 breeze-up draft following the Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Lezoo, whose Newmarket success came on the same day that another Tally-Ho breezer, Crypto Force, landed the Beresford Stakes at the Curragh.
Brilliantly fast, The Platinum Queen came into the race for Richard Fahey having run an agonisingly close second in the Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster. Prior to that, she had proved her mettle against older horses with a game second to Highfield Princess in the Nunthorpe Stakes, having previously broken the juvenile track record at Goodwood.
On Sunday, The Platinum Queen set out to make all again, with Hollie Doyle keen to make most of her blistering early pace. And it paid off as having taken it up before halfway, she bravely held off the closing pack - all 17 of them - to win by a short neck.
"She's done that brilliantly," Hollie Doyle told the Racing Post. "She had a bit up her sleeve and had the race put to bed, but idled half a furlong out. Luckily, I had some company and she stuck her neck out again.
"Her biggest asset is her speed and she was either going to go on this ground or wasn't, but thankfully it worked out well. All credit to Mr Fahey, who is an exceptional trainer of this type of horse.
"I was fairly confident but it's been a fair few years since a two-year-old has taken this race."
She added: "She's danced every dance. It's a big win for the owners Middleham Park, they're a great syndicate and they've got plenty of horses across the country. It's a big day for them."
Tom Palin of Middleham Park Racing told Racing TV: “It was never in doubt really, it was brilliant.
I thought it was a pretty dominant performance really. Hollie said she idled a little bit in the last 100 yards, but she did it well.
“I think the next 24 hours could be a bit ropey with all the celebrating, but as long as the filly comes out of it all right, then I think we’ll look forward to going to America [to the Breeders' Cup] with her.”
The Platinum Queen represents a fusion of the new and established at Tally-Ho being from the second-crop of Cotai Glory and the daughter of a Kodiac mare. She is the second foal out of Thrilled, who was also bred by us, in her case out of the Desert Sun mare Fuerta Ventura.
She is one of 14 stakes performers for Cotai Glory, whose first crop was headlined by the Prix Robert Papin winner Atomic Force - he was subsequently sold to Hong Kong. In addition to The Platinum Queen, his second crop also includes Italian Group 3 winner Bottle Of Bubbles.
The Platinum Queen was sold by us at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale - in the same draft as Crypto Force - to Richard Fahey and Middleham Park Racing. Many congratulations to all connections!
