Toy Becomes Eighth Winner for Blue Hen Mare

They were not exactly the biggest victories either will achieve but two of this century's most illustrious broodmares were back on the mark April 16.

The term blue hen can certainly be applied to You'resothrilling , who has produced four group 1 winners, three of whom have landed classics, and maintained her perfect record of eight winners from as many runners as Toy  skipped clear in the Welcome To The Racing Home For Easter Festival Maiden at Cork. Each of the other septets has achieved black type, too.

A stiff example has been set by the Aidan O'Brien-trained, Coolmore-bred daughter of the late Galileo , given her siblings include the dual Guineas hero and Coolmore stallion Churchill  and last year's Diane scorer Joan of Arc , but Toy had looked a winner in waiting in two previous starts.

Still seemingly a work in progress, the white-faced chestnut filly could easily make further improvement in one of the classics, as her trainer has managed so many times before.

On current records, Toy is the youngest foal of the beautifully bred Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cherry Hinton (G2) winner, who most recently visited the Darley kingpin Dubawi .

A little further down the career path is 5-year-old gelding Enemy, who was particularly impressive in landing the valuable Betway Queen's Cup at Musselburgh.

Bred by Ecurie des Monceaux and Skymarc Farm, the son of Muhaarar  once changed hands for €420,000 (US$480,396) as a yearling at Deauville. Although he won on his debut at Ascot in 2019, he was not exactly a superstar during stints in Britain and France.

Ian Williams claimed him for €92,000 ($99,437) in Normandy last November and the change of scene seems to have worked as he built upon his showing in Dubai.

Enemy is a sibling of three notable performers, headed by the redoubtable globetrotter Magic Wand  and the Darley Irish Oaks (G1) winner Chicquita .

Their dam, the Dansili  mare Prudenzia , has been a marvel for Monceaux and has produced a string of seven-figure sales in the Arqana ring including the €1,625,000 ($1,802,288) Philomene(IRE), who was second to Joan of Arc  in the Prix de Diane Longines (G1). 

Her 3-year-old Galileo brother Gulliver's Travels made €2,000,000 ($2,360,793) to Coolmore and has an entry for O'Brien at Tipperary next week.