By Sean Cronin
Presented with an opening after the scratching of Great Barrier Reef (No Nay Never) from Sunday's G1 Sumbe Prix Morny at Deauville, Victorious Forever's G2 Duke Of Cambridge victrix Senorita Bonita (Starspangledbanner)–who was the 900,000gns Craven Breeze-Up topper in April–delivered a stunning burst of acceleration to plunder the six-furlong contest in mightily impressive fashion.
“That was a fantastic performance and all roads lead to the [G1] Cheveley Park [at Newmarket] at the end of September,” beamed Simon Crisford, who took this contest with Vandeek in 2023. “They set some very good fractions up front, she's shown a great turn of foot and she finished off super well. She was a little bit slow out of the gates and behind the bridle early, but they were going quick and the race set up for the closers. She was the best of the closers and galloped out strongly. At halfway I briefly thought we might have a mountain to climb here, but she's got such a good turn of foot that at the furlong pole you could see she was going to come home strong. It was a deep, deep renewal and any Group 1 is fantastic to win. It's a great testament to the staff back at home and everyone involved and it's great to win for Shaikh Nasser [bin Hamed Al Khalifa] and Shaikh Khalid [bin Hamed Al Khalifa].”
Oisin Murphy was equally ebullient in his praise fo the winner. “She's got an awful lot of speed and her work leading into the race, at Newmarket about 10 days ago, was fantastic,” he said. “The only time she's been beaten was in the Queen Mary and I thought her preparation for today was perfect. We'd planned to relax her wherever she was happy and allow the race to unfold because she has a very good turn of foot. To compare her to other good fillies I've ridden at two, she's certainly towards the level of Porta Fortuna and Alcohol Free. I've had three Group 1 winners for Victorious Racing this year, the owners and breeders are here and I'm delighted for them.”
The 13-5 favourite employed patient tactics and raced several lengths off the clear leader Carry The Flag (No Nay Never) in sixth through the early fractions.
Stirred into action with 350 metres remaining, she quickened to go second entering the final furlong and unleashed an array of gears to sweep by Carry The Flag in the closing stages, en route to an eyecatching four-length career high.
Carry The Flag made a bold attempt off the front under Ronan Whelan and kept on in determined fashion to withstand the late charge of the hitherto undefeated Kosuma (Night Of Thunder) by a short-neck for second.
Reflecting on the performance of third home Kosuma, racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau said, “Kosuma has run very well, but the winner is very, very good. They went really fast and it took her some time to make up the ground, but she finished very strongly. When you see something like that, you naturally start thinking that we might be able to step her up in trip. Her pedigree also suggests that, and we have always thought she could stay further. This race does not point us towards any particular target at this stage. She has already raced four times, so we really need to see how she comes out of this and discuss things again.”
Pedigree Notes
Senorita Bonita, who had previously added a G2 Queen Mary second to a Nottingham debut win, was put through Tattersalls' Craven ring by Mark Flannery, on behalf of Churchtown House Stud's Anne and Michael Gaffney, and knocked down to Anthony Stroud.
Becoming her sire's 12th Group 1 winner here, she is the first of three foals produced by an unraced sibling of G3 Prix de Royaumont winner Sub Rose (Galileo), Listed Princess Royal victrix Astonishing (Galileo) and the stakes-placed Shore Break (Footstepsinthesand).
Sub Rose is the dam of the dual Group-winning G1 Champion Stakes third Subway Dancer (Shamardal) and Group 3 winner Secret Advisor (Dubawi), while Astonishing's quartet of black-type performers includes the Group 3 winner Dr Omran (Palace Pier) and the multiple Group-placed Gold Maze (Golden Horn).
The winner's third dam is the Group 2-winning G1 Coronation Stakes and G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois placegetter Magic Gleam (Danzig).
Hailing from the family of the US Fillies' Triple Crown heroine Davona Dale (Best Turn), Senorita Bonita is kin to a yearling filly by Modern Games and a weanling filly by Sioux Nation
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WHAT A TURN OF FOOT!
SENORITA BONITA WINS THE G1 PRIX MORNY! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/FK3RBAMhuH
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) August 23, 2026
Sunday, Deauville, France
SUMBE PRIX MORNY-G1, €350,000, Deauville, 8-23, 2yo, c/f, 6fT, 1:08.79, vsf.
1–SENORITA BONITA (IRE), 122, f, 2, by Starspangledbanner (Aus)
1st Dam: Belicious (Ire), by Ruler Of The World (Ire)
2nd Dam: Amazing Krisken, by Kris S.
3rd Dam: Magic Gleam, by Danzig
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (75,000gns RNA Wlg '24 TADEWE; 75,000gns RNA Ylg '25 TATOCT; 900,000gns 2yo '26 TATBRE). O-Victorious Forever; B-Hawes Stud & Churchtown House Stud; T-Simon & Ed Crisford; J-Oisin Murphy. €199,990. Lifetime Record: GSW-Eng, 4-3-1-0, €330,534. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Carry The Flag (Ire), 126, c, 2, No Nay Never–Ejaazah (Ire), by Acclamation (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€250,000 Ylg '25 GOFORY). O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Westerberg & Peter Brant; B-Summerhill Bloodstock; T-Aidan O'Brien. €80,010.
3–Kosuma (Fr), 122, f, 2, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Any Time Soon (Ire), by Camelot (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere; T-Andre & Lavinia Fabre. €40,005.
Margins: 4, SNK, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.60, 37.70, 2.70.
Also Ran: Man's Best Friend (Ire), Drazinda (Fr), Orthodox (GB), Tribeca (Ire). Scratched: Great Barrier Reef (Ire).
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