Prince Faisal's Eydon hasn't been the easiest horse to train over the years, but the perseverance of his connections paid off in spades at San Siro Racecourse on Sunday when the six-year-old gained his biggest success to date in the G2 Gran Premio del Jockey Club – S.I.R.E. Trofeo Pio Bruni.
Sparingly raced since finishing fourth in the G1 2,000 Guineas won by Coroebus (Dubawi), the son of Olden Times showed that he retains plenty of ability when winning May's G3 Aston Park Stakes at Newbury, before another training setback sidelined him until his belated return to action at Newmarket last month.
Only fourth there in the Listed Godolphin Stakes, the Andrew Balding trainee proved a much sharper model in Milan with that outing under his belt. Sent straight to the front by PJ McDonald and soon two lengths clear of the chasing pack, the 27/20 favourite found plenty when challenged entering the final two furlongs. At the line he had a length and three-quarters to spare over Alleno (Nathaniel), who edged out fellow German raider Nyra (Isfahan) by a nose for the runner-up spot.
Pedigree Notes
Prince Faisal's homebred is one of three winners from as many runners out of the Frankel mare Mountain Moon, a half-sister to the Listed scorers Arctic Gyr (Invincible Spirit) and Festivale (Invincible Spirit). Another sibling, the G3 Sirenia Stakes third Simple Magic (Invincible Spirit), is the dam of this year's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest hero Sajir (Make Believe) and the second dam of the Listed winner and G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange third Nahraan (Make Believe).
Sunday, Milan, Italy
GRAN PREMIO DEL JOCKEY CLUB – S.I.R.E. TROFEO PIO BRUNI-G2, €264,000, Milan, 10-19, 3yo/up, 2400mT, 2:28.00, gd.
1–EYDON (IRE), 130, h, 6, by Olden Times (GB)
1st Dam: Moon Mountain (GB), by Frankel (GB)
2nd Dam: Cephalonie, by Kris S.
3rd Dam: Heraklia, by Irish River (Fr)
O-Prince A. A. Faisal; B-Nawara Stud Limited (Ire). T-Andrew
Balding; J-PJ McDonald. €102,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Eng,
12-3-4-2, €277,593. Werk Nick Rating: B.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Alleno (Ire), 130, c, 4, Nathaniel (Ire)–Alandia (Ire), by
Adlerflug (Ger). O-Gestut Ittlingen; B-Gestut Hof Ittlingen
(Ire); T-Marcel Weiss. €44,880.
3–Nyra (Ger), 121, f, 3, Isfahan (Ger)–Nightlight Angel (Ire), by
Manduro (Ger). O/B-Christoph Berglar; T-Waldemar Hickst.
€24,480
Margins: 1 3/4, NS, SNK. Odds: 2.35, 7.35, 5.87.
Also Ran: Lazio (Ger), Alburno (Ire), Columbus (Ger), Flag's Up (Ire). Click for the SNAI chart & video.
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