By Sean Cronin
Mirage Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who hit the board in last term's G3 Hampton Court S. and G2 Great Voltigeur S., opened this semester with a second in Ascot's Listed Buckhounds S. and registered a first stakes triumph in the May 26 Listed Tapster S. over this course and distance. The homebred bay then slipped to fifth in Royal Ascot's June 19 Listed Wolferton S., before posting a runner-up finish in Newmarket's July 12 G2 Princess of Wales's S., and he justified a sustained gamble in Friday's G3 Bombay Sapphire Glorious S. at Goodwood to secure a personal best in taking fashion, lifting Sir Michael Stoute to within one of Luca Cumani's record seven renewals. At the line, the 6-5 chalk had 3 1/2 lengths to spare over Red Verdon (Lemon Drop Kid) with Second Step (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) running on to finish another length adrift in third. Mirage Dancer was settled off the tempo in third for most of the contest. Bounding to the front approaching the quarter-mile marker, he stayed on strongly under urging thereafter to provide Ryan Moore, and Stoute, with a third straight win following Kings Fete (GB) (King's Best) in 2016 and subsequent dual Group 1 hero Poet's Word (Ire) (Poet's Voice {GB}) last year.
Mirage Dancer is the leading perfomer produced by GI Beverly D. S. and GI Matriarch S. heroine Heat Haze (GB) (Green Desert), whose progeny also includes GI Maker's Mile third Forge (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Listed Michael Seely Memorial S. runner-up Radiator (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Heat Haze, who has the hitherto unraced 2-year-old colt Ironclad (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and a yearling full-brother to Mirage Dancer to come, is a daughter of storied blue hen Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}), herself the winner of the Listed Prix des Sablonnets and the dam of the four other MG1SW champions Banks Hill (GB) (Danehill), Intercontinental (GB) (Danehill), Cacique (Ire) (Danehill) and Champs Elysees (GB) (Danehill), plus G2 Prix du Muguet-winning sire Dansili (GB) (Danehill). Banks Hill is the dam of G1 Prix Jean Romanet heroine Romantica (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).
Friday, Goodwood, Britain
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE GLORIOUS S.-G3, £100,000, Goodwood, 8-3, 4yo/up, 11f 218yT, 2:33.69, g/f.
1–MIRAGE DANCER (GB), 127, c, 4, by Frankel (GB)">Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Heat Haze (GB) (MGISW-US & SW-Fr, $1,183,696), by Green Desert
2nd Dam: Hasili (Ire), by Kahyasi (Ire)
3rd Dam: Kerali (GB), by High Line (GB)
1ST GROUP WIN. O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute; J-Ryan Moore. £56,710. Lifetime Record: 10-3-2-2, $204,211. *1/2 to Forge (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), GISP-US & MGSP-Eng, $234,079; and Radiator (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), SP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Red Verdon, 127, h, 5, Lemon Drop Kid–Porto Marmay (Ire), by Choisir (Aus). ($85,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP; 90,000gns 2yo '15 TATBRE). O-The Hon R J Arculli; B-Liberty Road Stables (KY); T-Ed Dunlop. £21,500.
3–Second Step (Ire), 127, g, 7, Dalakhani (Ire)–My Dark Rosaleen (GB), by Sadler's Wells. O/B-Merry Fox Stud Ltd (IRE); T-Roger Charlton. £10,760.
Margins: 3HF, 1, 1 3/4. Odds: 1.20, 6.00, 3.50.
Also Ran: Blakeney Point (GB), Eminent (Ire), Top Tug (Ire), Scotland (Ger). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
