Libertango Wins The Lowther, Breeders' Cup In Her Sights

Entering Thursday's G2 Sky Bet Lowther Stakes the proven one, the Albany winner Libertango (No Nay Never) emerged best in the York contest to further enhance her record.

Buried behind the main group by jockey Billy Loughnane as he switched from the stands' side to the centre, the 3-1 second favourite was eventually delivered on the far rail to overhaul the 9-4 market-leader Star Of State (State Of Rest) and prevail by half a length. Juddmonte's blueblood Jolivette (Wootton Bassett) was a further length behind the Joseph O'Brien-trained TDN Rising Star in third.

Beaten in Newmarket's Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes following her Royal Ascot success, Vefa Ibrahim Araci's 400,000gns Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up purchase was putting matters right here with her rider blaming himself for her last defeat. “I thought Joseph's filly would stay and I got it wrong at Newmarket, as she's a filly who enjoys having a target for as long as possible,” Loughnane said. “Ascot to Newmarket is a quick turnaround and she's had a bit of time after that to strengthen up and relax. She might get a little bit further in time, but at the moment she's all about speed.”

George Boughey has only the sprint tests in mind for the moment. “She's all about speed and it'll be the Cheveley Park now and maybe on to the Breeders' Cup after,” he said. “She needs that bit of trouble in running and she'll love it in America. I do think when we see her back in trip at five, we might see an even more explosive filly so it'll be the Sprint Turf at Keeneland rather than the mile.”

“We had a bit of a gameplan to try and come across, we wanted to get on the back of the ones that we thought were going to take us closest into the race,” he added. “She needs to find a tail, get into a bit of trouble and massive credit to Billy as he did exactly what we tried to do at Ascot. The ground slightly dampened the enthusiasm, but she got away with it.

Despite sticking to the speed tests at two, Boughey was not ruling out training Libertango for the 1,000 Guineas in the spring. “I think naturally you have to train a horse for a race like the Guineas, but the Commonwealth Cup is there for her to come back to,” he explained. “My suspicion is that she will look very fast when it comes to the trials and we go Pavilion before Royal Ascot, but all cards are on the table at the moment.”

Joseph O'Brien said of Star Of State, “She's proven she's a high-class filly today and we think the bestis yet to come. The winner is obviously a top-class filly and she picked our pocket a bit, but I like ours long-term. Undoubtedly she'll stay further than this, but there's no rush to lock in to her next target. I think she's an exciting filly for the future.”

Libertango is delivered perfectly to strike in the £250,000 Group 2 @SkyBet Lowther Stakes! @yorkracecourse @loughnane_billy | @gbougheyracing pic.twitter.com/J9R22zy6xg

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 20, 2026

Pedigree Notes
Libertango is the first of three current foals out of the dam, all by No Nay never, with Ein Gedi (Oasis Dream) being a full-sister to the owner's Solario Stakes winner Aktabantay and half to the Prix Imprudence-winning Spanish champion two-year-old filly Reina Madre (Kingman). The second dam Splashdown (Falbrav), who captured the Ballymacoll Stud Stakes, is kin to the Height of Fashion winner Cosmodrome (Bahri) and Theatrical's Graded-Stakes-placed sire Tadreeb.

Her yearling colt was a €620,000 purchase by Rob Speers for Old Mill Stud during Monday's session of the Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale, while her 2026 offering by the sire is a filly.