By Stefanie Grimm
Undefeated no more.
Lush Lips (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) inherited a late lead and held off a closing charge from the previously-undefeated Laurelin (Ire) (Zarak {Fr}) to claim her first Grade I win in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland Saturday.
It was redemption in a way for a filly who took a chance in California last out, shipping from Churchill Downs to wind up just a half-length back of Velocity (Nyquist) in the GI Del Mar Oaks Aug. 16.
Finally in a race without the presence of top 3-year-old filly Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) after losing to her twice earlier this year, Lush Lips made the most of her inside draw, showing speed and sitting a stalking second as Opulent Restraint (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) rushed out from the middle of the pack to lead with one lap to run. Giving that pacesetter plenty of rope, the 8-1 shot was happy to sit in her tracks on the fence as Laurelin ran a joint third and GI Belmont Oaks Invitational winner Fionn (Twirling Candy), the 3-2 race favorite, trailing the field through the opening quarter in :23.23. The top three remained unchanged and by the half-mile pole, Laurelin had pulled into a solo third and was picking up a bit of ground on Lush Lips who also was tightening up the margin up front.
With a quarter-mile left to run, Opulent Restraint turned for home still in the lead but facing plenty of pressure while on her wrong lead. It was Lush Lips who got the first jump, powering to even terms inside the final furlong and blowing right on past. Laurelin, wider still of that pair, was also moving late but Lush Lips hit the front and refused to be pulled back in, staying clear in the final strides to earn the crown. It was another several lengths back to Fionn who kicked into gear down the stretch but could do no better than winning the photo finish for fourth.
This is the first Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes win for trainer Brendan Walsh and the ownership group of Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Hoffman Thoroughbreds, Mrs. Paul Shanahan and Mrs. M.V. Magnier. Lush Lips is the only active runner for this partnership.
Now a four-time winner in the United States, Lush Lips has never run worse than second since joining Walsh's string, winning her first two starts in the country before running second to Nitrogen twice at both Tampa in the GIII Florida Oaks and at Churchill in the GII Edgewood Stakes May 2.
“As a kid growing up, I didn't know a lot about the Breeders' Cup,” said Medallion Racing Manager Phillip Shelton. “I just knew we could come to it (here at Keeneland). I think my parents didn't bring me opening weekend because it was going to be too crowded. But this (Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup) was the one race we had to come to every year. If you'd have said, 'Pick any race the partnership could win, it would be this one here at Keeneland.' The (credit) goes to (trainer) Brendan (Walsh) and his team and the filly. She's just got a ton of heart, and we're very lucky.”
“Surprisingly, we did (gain confidence from her runner-up finish at today's distance in the Aug. 16 Del Mar Oaks-G1 Presented by Keeneland Sales), because that was always in the back of our minds, that maybe it was as far as she wanted to go,” Walsh added. “But I think she went against the grain, and it seems she has no problem going the mile and an eighth. It was fantastic. (Her ability to lay off the pace gives us options) without a doubt. It opens a big door for her, especially for next year, because we always thought this filly was going to be a good 4-year-old. It's fantastic to win a Grade I with her.”
Fionn, who suffered her first off-the-board finish Saturday, seems set to go on for a 4-year-old campaign as well.
“We won a (turf) race earlier today (with Chapman's Peak in Race 7) on the lead, and it seems that is where you need to be early,” trainer Brad Cox said. “Where she was (far back), she wasn't going to get it done from there. She's had a long year. We'll talk it over with the owners, but she would be OK to take a breather. We will come up with a game plan to maybe race her again in 2026.”
Pedigree Note:
Lush Lips is the third graded stakes winner for Ten Sovereigns who was exported to stand in Turkey last year from his previous base at Coolmore Ireland. She is also his second Grade I winner joining Zulu Kingdom who took down the GI Churchill Downs American Turf Stakes on the Kentucky Derby undercard this year.
BBA Ireland picked up first dam Lamyaa (GB), a daughter of Arcano (Ire), for €28,000 as a broodmare out of the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale in 2016. The dam is a half to high-weighted German older horse Electric Beat (GB) (Shinko Forest {Ire}) and to GSP Gray Pearl (GB) (Excellent Art {GB}) while another half-sister produced both GSW/G1SP Melo Melo (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) and MGSW Treasuring (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}).
She's since produced six foals of which five have races and two have won. Lush Lips herself was a £82,000 yearling grad from Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale in 2023. Her younger siblings have also gone come under the hammer at Goffs with her yearling half-brother by Harry Angel (Ire) bringing €55,000 out of Book 1 at the Orby Sale just last month. That colt is the last reported foal out of Lamyaa who has not been bred since.
LUSH LIPS! 👄
She wins the G1 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup @keenelandracing for @brenpwalsh and @Tyler_Gaff. pic.twitter.com/7nxjqJOZgi
— World Horse Racing (@WHR) October 11, 2025
Saturday, Keeneland
QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP S. PRESENTED BY DIXIANA-GI, $665,300, Keeneland, 10-11, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:48.01, gd.
1–LUSH LIPS (GB), 121, f, 3, by Ten Sovereigns (Ire)
1st Dam: Lamyaa (GB), by Arcano (Ire)
2nd Dam: Divine Grace (Ire), by Definite Article (GB)
3rd Dam: Grey Patience (Ire), by Common Grounds (GB)
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. (£82,000 Ylg
'23 GOFFUK). O-Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds,
Hoffman Thoroughbreds, LLC, Mrs. Paul Shanahan, and
Mrs. M. V. Magnier; B-The Pocock Family (GB); T-Brendan P.
Walsh; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $387,888. Lifetime Record:
10-4-4-0, $769,510. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Laurelin (Ire), 121, f, 3, by Zarak (Fr)
1st Dam: Bari (Ire), by Cape Cross (Ire)
2nd Dam: Genoa (GB), by Zafonic
3rd Dam: Yawl (GB), by Rainbow Quest
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. (€160,000 Ylg '23 GOFOR).
O-Newstead Stables LLC; B-M. H. Dixon & Mount Coote
Estates (IRE); T-H. Graham Motion. $125,125.
3–Opulent Restraint (Ire), 121, f, 3, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Significant Form (MGSW, $817,216), by Creative Cause
2nd Dam: Church by the Sea, by Harlan's Holiday
3rd Dam: Witness Post, by Gone West
O-Stephanie Seymour Brant; B-White Birch Farm Sc (IRE);
T-Chad C. Brown. $62,562.
Margins: 1 1/4, 3/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 8.61, 2.34, 11.48.
Also Ran: Fionn, Candy Quest, Daisy Flyer, Simmering (GB), Destino d'Oro. Scratched: Will Then.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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