THE TWILIGHT ZONE
In a blanket four-horse finish to a pulsating renewal of Royal Ascot's G1 Diamond Jubilee S., it was Godfrey Wilson and Cheveley Park Stud's G1 Haydock Sprint Cup hero Twilight Son (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) who emerged on top to regain the winning thread he had lost on his last two starts. Breaking best before being settled behind the leader Signs of Blessing (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) by Ryan Moore, the 7-2 shot worked his way past that rival inside the last 50 yards to win by a neck from the closer Gold-Fun (Ire) (Le Vie dei Colori {GB}), who denied Signs of Blessing by a short head with the 3-1 market-leader Magical Memory (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}) just a head away in fourth. Only fifth in the May 11 G2 Duke of York S. last time, Twilight Son had this easier ground to suit which may have counted against some of his chief rivals, including last year's winner Undrafted (Purim) in sixth. “He traveled very strongly and I always felt when I asked him he would go and win,” Moore said as he completed a treble on the day. “When I rode him here last year he felt like a very good horse and he has obviously taken a while to come to hand this year, but Mr Candy was very confident about him. He's done very little wrong and the pace wasn't strong enough for him–he'd be better if they were going quicker.”
Saturday, Royal Ascot, Britain
DIAMOND JUBILEE S.-G1, £600,000, ASC, 6-18, 4yo/up, 6fT, 1:13.84, g/s.
1–TWILIGHT SON (GB), 129, c, 4, by Kyllachy (GB)
1st Dam: Twilight Mistress (GB), by Bin Ajwaad (Ire)
2nd Dam: By Candlelight (Ire), by Roi Danzig
3rd Dam: Penny Candle, by Be My Guest
O-Godfrey Wilson & Cheveley Park Stud; B-Mrs C R D Wilson (GB); T-Henry Candy; J-Ryan Moore. £340,260. Lifetime Record: 8-6-1-0, $1,079,410. *1/2 to Music Master (GB) (Piccolo {GB}), GSW & G1SP-Eng, SP-Fr, $282,970. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Gold-Fun (Ire), 129, g, 7, Le Vie Dei Colori (GB)–Goodwood March (GB), by Foxhound. (10,000gns Ylg '10 TATOCT). O-Sutong Pan; B-Michael Downey & Roalso Ltd (IRE); T-Richard Gibson. £129,000.[bullet ad=”irt-shell”]3–Signs of Blessing (Ire), 129, g, 5, Invincible Spirit (Ire)–Sun Bittern, by Seeking the Gold. (€102,000 Ylg '12 ARAUG). O-Ecurie Pandora Racing, Ahmed Mouknass & Mme Isabelle Corbani; B-Serge Boucheron (IRE); T-Francois Rohaut. £64,560.[bullet ad=”mab-purchased-by”]Margins: NK, HD, HD. Odds: 3.50, 7.00, 25.00.
Also Ran: Magical Memory (Ire), Suedois (Fr), Undrafted, Holler (Aus), The Tin Man (GB), Mattmu (GB). Scratched: Jungle Cat (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Remarkably without a Royal winner since 1979, one of Britain's most-respected and accomplished veterans Henry Candy cajoled Twilight Son up the ranks in his inimitable style, with handicap wins over this trip at Newmarket's Guineas meeting and at York preceding a tough short-head defeat of the Charlie Hills-trained Strath Burn (GB) (Equiano {Fr}), with another from that stable in Magical Memory back in third in the Haydock Sprint Cup. Second to Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) as that star of the Hills camp sent his unbeaten record into touch in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. over this course and distance in October, the bay was never seriously involved under a penalty on his seasonal bow in the Duke of York which at the time seemed disappointing from such a reliable performer. In hindsight, he was racing on a strip of ground on the Knavesmire which seemed disadvantageous during the Dante meeting and his trainer was documented as admitting to leaving him short.
Candy had endured several reversals at this hallowed meeting down the years, with Airwave (GB) (Air Express {Ire}) going close when second to the almost unbeatable Choisir (Aus) in this when it was known as the Golden Jubilee back in 2003, so expectations were kept under wraps but Twilight Son had pleased in his preparatory work. One of those pieces involved a racecourse gallop at Newbury before which he got loose, but the vibes were strong and he had the guidance of Ryan Moore to further help in this intriguing renewal which lacked a stand-out. Breaking smartly before being quickly restrained as Olivier Peslier sent Signs of Blessing up to the lead, he was in an ideal position drafting behind the French raider who provided a lead for far longer than the betting suggested. With his game and straightforward efforts of last term characterised by a strong finish, he was always going to be a factor and once Moore had enlivened him it was just a matter of time before he earned the advantage. Old adversary Magical Memory looked the biggest threat unwinding out wide for Frankie Dettori, but the grey's effort flattened out late and ultimately he just made up the numbers lined out across the track with Twilight Son sticking his neck out in between.
Candy, who trained the sire, was typically humble as he reflected on ending the drought at this fixture. “He's a strong character and after York I realised he did need an awful lot of work, so I've been quite hard on him,” he revealed. “I think he was probably showing the results of that, but he certainly stayed on well enough. At one stage, I was thinking he was going to be third but he really dug deep and so did the jockey on top–Ryan is a top man.” Gold-Fun's trainer Richard Gibson was happy with another silver medal, which the gelding has picked up at the last three Hong Kong Invitational meetings and said, “We've come a long way and from a professional point of view, you are always happy when your horse runs to his rating. It was tight and all credit to the winner–we've got no excuses. He did finish, but it wasn't quite our day. He's going back home now, as we've got international races in December. He'll have a break and we'll try again in Hong Kong in December.” Magical Memory's trainer Charlie Hills was looking ahead. “He ran a great race. I think it was the ground that cost him,” he said. “Frankie [Dettori] is very confident about the [G1] July Cup [at Newmarket July 9].”
Twilight Mistress, who also has a 2-year-old filly by Assertive (GB) named Twilight Spirit (GB) and a yearling filly by Bahamian Bounty (GB), also produced the same stable's G3 Hackwood S. winner Music Master. From the family of the G3 Queen Mary S. winner On Tiptoes (GB) (Shareef Dancer), whose own descendants are headed by the G3 Firth of Clyde S. scorer Violette (GB) (Observatory), she descends from the G3 Molecomb S. heroine Hayloft (Fr) (Tudor Melody {GB}) whose leading performer is the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hero and sire Wassl (GB). This is the dynasty of the champion Hyperion (GB).
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