Thriving on a busy campaign, the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Charlotte's Web gained a first Group-race success on her 10th start of 2025 when digging deep to win Sunday's G2 Premio Lydia Tesio at Capannelle Racecourse.
Never far away as fellow Newmarket raider Ambiente Amigo (Postponed) took the field along in this early stages of this 10-furlong event, Charlotte's Web moved up to challenge the long-time leader entering the final two furlongs. From there the daughter of Night Of Thunder responded generously to Jack Mitchell's urgings to hit the line a length and a half clear of the never-nearer Pink Black (National Defense), who edged out Endo Botti's Sioux Life (Sioux Nation) and Ambiente Amigo in a bunched finish for the minor placings.
The disappointment of the race was home favourite Taany (Teofilo), who was seeking a fourth straight win and lined up in Rome following a four-length defeat of Sioux Life in last month's G3 Premio Verziere Memorial Aldo Cirla at San Siro Racecourse. She was ultimately beaten over three lengths in fifth, weakening in the final furlong after she'd held every chance entering the straight.
For Charlotte's Web this was a third victory of the calendar year, the first of which came in a Lingfield handicap all the way back in January. After making her black-type breakthrough in the Listed Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes at York in August, she signed off for the season on home soil with a close-up fourth in Newmarket's G3 Pride Stakes.
Market leader Woodchuck (Birchwood) fared better in the other Group 2 on Sunday's card, the Premio Roma Italian Champion. He was pushed all the way by defending champion Petit Marin (Flamingo Fantasy) but led where in mattered to get the verdict by a head and add a fifth Group-race success to his impressive tally.
Jamie Spencer was out of luck behind Woodchuck when having to settle for third aboard Hamad Al Jehani's Diego Ventura (Mehmas), but the rider was already on the scoresheet by then, having been successful in the G3 Premio Guido E Alessandro Berardelli earlier on the card. Dr Omran, a €62,000 purchase by owner Mahmud Mouni at the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-up Sale, was Spencer's willing partner, getting off the mark at the fourth attempt to become the fourth black-type winner for his first-season sire, Palace Pier.
Completing the quartet of Pattern races on the card was the G3 Premio Ribot Memorial Loreto Luciani, which went the way of Endo Botti's Kabir. The three-year-old continues to be a flagbearer for his second-crop sire, Far Above.
Pedigree Notes
Charlotte's Web is out of the Lope De Vega mare Chamundi Hills, a half-sister to the G3 Prix de Conde and G3 Prix Penelope heroine Luminate (Lawman). Her second dam, Kalandara (Rainbow Quest), is a half-sister to three black-type winners, most notably the multiple Group 1-winning sire Kalanisi.
Sunday, Rome, Italy
PREMIO LYDIA TESIO BET365 SCORES.IT-G2, € 352,000, Rome, 11-2, 3yo/up, f, 2000mT, 2.00.97, gd.
1–CHARLOTTE'S WEB (IRE), f, 4, by Night of Thunder (Ire)
1st Dam: Chamundi Hills (Ire), by Lope De Vega (Ire)
2nd Dam: Kalandara (Ire), by Rainbow Quest (Ire)
3rd Dam: Kalamba (Ire), by Green Dancer (Ire)
1ST GROUP WIN. O-Sheik Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al
Maktoum; B-Godolphin; T-Simon & Ed Crisford, J-Jack Mitchell;
€136,000. Lifetime Record: SW & GSP-Eng, 17-6-2-5,
€370,828. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Pink Black (Ire), f, 3, National Defense (GB)–Appletreemagic
(Ire), by Indian Danehill (Ire). (€2,000 Ylg '23 TATSEP). O-Sc
Semeso Di Sebastiano Guerrieri; B-Miss Annmarie Burke;
€59,840.
3–Sioux Life (Ity), f, 4, Sioux Nation–Ninepins (Ire), by Rip Van
Winkle (Ire). (€18,000 Wlg '21 ARQDEC). O-Sc La Tesa Srl;
B-Allevamento Le. Gi. S.R.L. Societa' Agric Ola; €32,640.
Margins: 1HF, NK, HD. Odds: 7.23, 11.73, 5.34
Also Ran: Ambiente Amigo (Ire), Taany (Ire), Place Fontenoy (Fr), Sun Never Sets (Ire), Lady Charlotte (GB), Asmira (Ger), Motabaah (Ire), Vasda (Ire). Click for the SNAI chart & video.
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