By Tom Frary
Ellthea opened her account at the second attempt over five furlongs at Carlisle June 8 before putting in a mulish display when sixth in the Listed Star S. over this trip at Sandown July 27. Fitted with blinkers for the G3 Prix du Calvados at Deauville Aug. 19, the bay ran ninth there but showed the sparkle that Karl Burke had been seeing at home when taking a 6 1/2-furlong Doncaster nursery last time Sept. 14. Racing behind the leading duo throughout the early stages, she was committed with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining and stayed on strongly to beat the Ballydoyle pair Sizzling and Ballet Shoes in convincing fashion.
Karl Burke believes Ellthea has had a valid excuse for her previous no-shows in black-type company. “Obviously she is a talented filly, but she has just suffered with being in season all summer really,” he explained. “Every time we took her away she was in season and not performing. There is a little bit of temperament to her, but when she uses it in the right way she is very useful. I'm not sure if she will run again. We were thinking if she nicked a bit of black-type we would probably pack her in for the year, but Colm [O'Donoghue] said she did that pretty easily and was a bit lonely in front so we might look for something else yet.”
Ellthea's dam Tropical Lady plied her trade in this country during the last decade, winning the G2 Royal Whip S., G3 Brownstown S. and G3 Meld S., among others. She is a half-sister to Wilamina (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) who captured this year's Listed Nottinghamshire Oaks and was runner-up in the G2 Kilboy Estate S. The third dam Star Cream is a daughter of the G3 Prix Cleopatre winner Tropical Cream (Creme dela Creme), whose progeny list is headed by the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Tropicaro (Fr) (Caro {Ire}). Her descendants include the G1 Premio Vittorio di Capua hero Amaron (GB) (Shamardal).
Sunday, Naas, Ireland
C.L. & M.F. WELD PARK S.-G3, €67,500, NAA, 9-24, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:30.23, sf.
1–ELLTHEA (IRE), 126, f, 2, by Kodiac (GB)
1st Dam: Tropical Lady (Ire) (MGSW-Ire, $499,806), by Sri Pekan
2nd Dam: Tropical Lake (Ire), by Lomond
3rd Dam: Star Cream (GB), by Star Appeal
*1st stakes win. (€88,000 Ylg '16 TIRSEP). O-Mrs M. Gittins; B-George Kent (IRE); T-Karl Richard Burke; J-Colm O'Donoghue. €39,825. Lifetime Record: 6-3-0-0, $86,191. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sizzling (Ire), 126, f, 2, Galileo (Ire)–Weekend Strike, by Smart Strike. O-Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Weekend Strike Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €12,825.
3–Ballet Shoes (Ire), 126, f, 2, Galileo (Ire)–Emerald Ring (Ire), by Johannesburg. O-Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Emerald Ring Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €6,075.
Margins: 2 3/4, HF, 2. Odds: 10.00, 3.00, 6.00.
Also Ran: Mary Tudor (Ire), Juliet Foxtrot (GB), Fille du Septembre (Ire), Athena (Ire), New To Town (Ire), Ball Girl (Ire). 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.
