Clarke-Bred Harvey's Lil Goil Wins QEII

Harvey Clarke died in January 2019 from lung cancer, but his legacy as a breeder of top-class Thoroughbreds continues.

This was apparent in the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Presented by Dixiana (G1T) at Keeneland Oct. 10 when Harvey's Lil Goil, a filly he bred in Kentucky, won the prestigious race by three-quarters of a length over Micheline. The winner races for Clarke's estate and Paul Braverman.

The 1-2 outcome from Harvey's Lil Goil and Micheline reversed a finish last month at Kentucky Downs when Micheline defeated Harvey's Lil Goil by a neck in the 1 5/16-mile Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks. A cutback in distance to 1 1/8 miles may have made the difference.

Harvey's Lil Goil, who pressed Sweet Melania through fractions of :23.89, :47.75, and 1:12.16, took command entering the lane and opened by 1 1/2 lengths in midstretch. Though Micheline cut into her lead in the final furlong, she couldn't close the gap.

The Bill Mott-trained winner was timed in 1:48.72 on good turf, paying $9.20 as the third choice in the field of seven. The victory was Mott's second in the QEII following Besilu Stables' Crown Queen in 2014.

Harvey's Lil Goil became the first grade 1 winner sired by American Pharoah , the 2015 Triple Crown winner whose progeny have shown an affinity for grass racing. Harvey's Lil Goil also won the Busanda Stakes on dirt this year.

Bred in Kentucky out of the unraced Tapit  mare Gloria S, Harvey's Lil Goil is one of three winners from his dam, a half sister to 2012 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner I'll Have Another , who was also bred by Clarke. 

"She's a little superstar," assistant trainer Kenny McCarthy said of Harvey's Lil Goil. "She pretty much goes on any surface for us. At least in my mind, I think the turf probably is a little bit easier for her to handle."

Martin Garcia was aboard the winner, as he was for a victory in the Regret Stakes (G3T) at Churchill Downs in June. He is 2-for-3 on the filly.

"She has a lot of natural speed. She's fast—you can do whatever you want," the rider said. "After the break, I moved outside and she was really comfortable by herself. When it was time to go, I asked and she responded."

Magic Attitude, the 8-5 favorite, closed from sixth to be third, but she lacked the stretch acceleration she displayed in winning the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) last month.

Red Lark, the winner of the Del Mar Oaks (G1T), also saw her inside rally flatten out in the final furlong after threatening in midstretch. She settled for fourth, ahead of California Kook, Hendy Woods, and Sweet Melania.