By Tom Frary
Completing an unprecedented Classic quadruple on the first weekend in May, Desert Flower left Team Godolphin in dreamland with her G1 1,000 Guineas triumph on Sunday. Keeping it simple on the even-money favourite, William Buick was always in control of the main group racing far side away from the three fillies sticking near the stands. It was from that trio that the unbeaten TDN Rising Star's main threat emerged in Siyouni's Flight, but Desert Flower was in no mood to spoil the transatlantic party for the Boys In Blue and held her by a length, with Flight's stablemate Simmering the same margin away in third making it a second and third for Ollie Sangster.
“She's an amazing filly and this means the world, to be part of this,” Buick said after steering his first 1,000 Guineas winner and fulfilling the Churchill-Newmarket quadruple. “I can't put it into words–she's incredible. We thought we had to make our own running and she showed what a versatile and uncomplicated filly she is. She's all class.”
CLASS 💫
Desert Flower sees her race out strongly to justify short odds in the 1000 Guineas.
The boys in blue are on fire! 🟦 @Betfred | @WilliamBuickX | @godolphin pic.twitter.com/2eXxBdkYGd
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 4, 2025
This performance was as much about William Buick's masterclass as it was about the filly's already-proven talent. The 2,000 Guineas pace-setter Tornado Alert had covered the first four furlongs in 50.80, while Desert Flower's first half a mile went by in 49.51, illustrating just what a perfectly-judged ride she received from an inspired Buick. Having just ridden like a daredevil on the yard's explosive Cinderella's Dream, he changed tack completely here and was on par for every furlong of the eight.
While the pace scenario was markedly different in both Guineas, the bare facts of the finish suggest that the fillies are still ahead of the colts as they were in 2024. The first five home on Sunday bettered Ruling Court's winning time, with the rusty-looking sixth-placed Lake Victoria matching him at the death. Desert Flower completed the last three furlongs in a near-perfect 99.42% as opposed to the panicked 104% plus for the first three colts home 24 hours earlier.
Earning TDN Rising Star status with a prescient 3 1/4-length dismissal of Flight at the July Festival on the town's other track, Desert Flower was four-for-four after her annihilation of her peers in the G1 Fillies' Mile in October having collected Doncaster's G2 May Hill Stakes en route. Her extensive experience of Newmarket's rollercoaster run to the line both on the July Course and the Rowley Mile was key according to Charlie Appleby. “We always like to use the dip as an excuse, but thankfully she has been through it in the Fillies' Mile and that's why William changed her run style,” he explained. “This ground is the tightest she has run on, so we said let's just go out there and let her get on with it rather than taking her back.”
“We knew she would stay beyond this mile and I was confident that once she was upsides the leaders on the stands' side that it would be game over, as the one thing she would do is eat that hill,” he added, before turning his attention to the Oaks. “I see no reason why she won't get further as she settles well–I know we have gone out and made it today and she was quite happy, but she can normally take a lead. I see no reason why not at the moment, but these are discussions we will have as a team. She is the best filly I've had by far and deserves the plaudits today.”
For Ollie Sangster, the result was near-perfect and the burgeoning trainer was taking the positives despite losing out on a dream outcome. “We were very happy with the shape both of them were in coming into it, but naturally we were 28-1 and 33-1 which lowered our expectations,” he said. “These were our first runners in a Classic race and we were just delighted to be here in the first place. We've got a team that all works really hard back at home and for them to run like that is fantastic. There have been very strong vibes coming out of the Godolphin team for weeks now, so to push her close like that is a real feather in the cap for both our fillies.”
Pedigree Notes
Desert Flower is the second of two live foals to date out of Hard Spun's five-times Group-winning Promising Run, whose first was Dubawi's G3 Solario Stakes winner Aablan (Ire). The second dam is the G1 Grande Premio Zelia Gonzaga Peixoto de Castro heroine Aviacion, whose other daughter of Dubawi is the G3 Lillie Langtry Stakes runner-up Arabian Comet. This the family of the leading sire Sir Gaylord and the incomparable Secretariat.
Sunday, Newmarket, Britain
BETFRED 1000 GUINEAS STAKES-G1, £548,450, Newmarket, 5-4, 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:36.81, g/f.
1–DESERT FLOWER (IRE), 128, f, 3, by Night Of Thunder (Ire)
1st Dam: Promising Run (MGSW-UAE, GSW-Eng & Tur, $933,721), by Hard Spun
2nd Dam: Aviacion (Brz), by Know Heights (Ire)
3rd Dam: Arbulus, by Liloy (Fr)
TDN Rising Star. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £311,026. Lifetime Record: 5-5-0-0, $882,625. *1/2 to Aablan (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), GSW-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Flight (GB), 128, f, 3, Siyouni (Fr)–Run Wild (Ger), by Amaron (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Cornthrop Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-Ollie Sangster. £117,917.
3–Simmering (GB), 128, f, 3, Too Darn Hot (GB)–Cashla Bay (GB), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). (70,000gns Ylg '23 TATOCT). O-Al Shaqab Racing; B-Lofts Hall Stud (GB); T-Ollie Sangster. £59,013.
Margins: 1, 1, NK. Odds: 1.00, 28.00, 33.00.
Also Ran: Elwateen (Ire), Chantilly Lace (Ire), Lake Victoria (Ire), Red Letter (GB), Hey Boo (GB), Duty First (GB), Remaat (GB).
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