Churchill Comes Through for Dewhurst Win

Coolmore and partners' Churchill extended his win streak to five Oct. 8 in the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes (Eng-I) for 2-year-olds at Newmarket, as Aidan O'Brien-trained runners again dominated the finish in a top race.

The 8-11 favorite rallied from midfield, came through traffic inside the final quarter-mile, and jockey Ryan Moore brought him out wide. He overtook pacesetter and stablemate Lancaster Bomber with less than a furlong to run and then scooted clear to win by 1 1/4 lengths. The triumph marked the Galileo colt's second top-level victory following his last-out Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes (Ire-I) triumph Sept. 11.

Lancaster Bomber, a Kentucky-bred son of War Front   at 66-1 odds, held for second, a half-length ahead of Godolphin's Gimcrack (Eng-II) winner Blue Point.

Churchill finished seven furlongs in 1:23.80 on turf rated good. He is the early favorite for the 2017 Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-I) and Epsom Derby (Eng-I)

"It got a little bit messy after the two-(furlong marker), and Ryan guided him through and produced him lovely, so we're over the moon," O'Brien told England's Press Association upon winning the Dewhurst for a fifth time and getting his 20th group I win of 2016.

Churchill, bred in Ireland by Liberty Bloodstock from the stakes-winning Storm Cat mare Meow, dropped his debut in May at the Curragh, finishing third before roaring back to win four straight: the Chesham at Royal Ascot, Japan Racing Association Tyros Stakes (Ire-III) at Leopardstown July 21, the Galileo E.B.F. Futurity (Ire-II) Aug. 21, and the National before Saturday's authoritative success.  

O'Brien indicated Churchill's potential is tremendous.

"He's very special, this fellow," said O'Brien, whose runners last Sunday went 1-2-3 in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) and Oct. 7 saw juvenile runners go 1-2 in the Fillies' Mile (Eng-I) at Newmarket. "He's done everything from day one. ... We've always viewed him as a miler, but that's not to say he won't get farther. ... Physically he's a very imposing horse. He's probably a more imposing 2-year-old than we've ever trained. He has a great mind and relaxes and sleeps. He just does the minimum, which is brilliant. He's a great traveler and the qualities are there in abundance."

South Seas and Seven Heavens both carried perfect records into the Dewhurst and finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the seven-horse field.