Call To Mind Delivers Late Birthday Gift to The Queen

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 91st birthday at Newbury Racecourse April 21, cheering on her 3-year-old homebred Maths Prize to a fifth-place finish in his 2017 debut.

The following day, Her Majesty recieved a belated birthday gift as another homebred, Call To Mind—a son of Galileo foaled from the stakes-winning Danehill Dancer mare Memory—earned three cheers for the Queen by carrying the royal colors to a neck victory in a one-mile maiden race for trainer W.J. Haggas and jockey Ryan Moore. 

From the breadth of the Queen’s smile in the winner’s enclosure following the race, she didn't care that the Call To Mind gift was a day tardy. 

Earlier on the Newbury card, a pair of 3-year-olds thrust themselves into consideration by taking the two group 3 races that lead up to the spring classics. 

In the Dubai Duty Free (Fred Darling) Stakes for 3-year-old fillies over seven furlongs, Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah’s Dabyah posted a 1 1/4-length victory for the red-hot barn of trainer John Gosden. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, Dabyah, the 6-4 favorite, led throughout and won comfortably from Saeed Manana’s Urban Fox and Denford Stud’s Promising in 1:24.54.

Rabbah Bloodstock bred Dabyah in Ireland from the first European crop of Australian-bred/raced Sepoy, a Darley-bred son of Elusive Quality who won the Patinack Farm Blue Diamond Stakes (G1) and AAMI Golden Slipper (G1) for Godolphin. Dabyah’s dam is the winning Machiavellian mare Samdaniya, a winning half sister to group 3 winner Queen’s Best. Their dam, Cloud Castle, won the Shadwell Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes (G3) at Newmarket. Sepoy is also the sire of group 3 winner Kilmah, whose broodmare sire Act One is a son of In the Wings.

Godolphin runners struck hard and fast in the Dubai Duty Free counterpart, the seven-furlong JLT Greenham Stakes (G3), as Barney Roy (Excelebration) and Dream Castle (Frankel) constituted a Godolphin blue exacta. 

With 10 3-year-olds lined up in the Greenham, Via Serendipity (Invincible Spirit) took the field through the early running with Barney Roy tracking the leaders on the outside. Dream Castle, who had broken his maiden in his debut only 20 days ago, was fighting to run and took command after five furlongs. Clear of his foes one-furlong from the finish, Sand Vixen, representing the Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin barn, began to tire and could not withstand the onslaught of his stablemate, whose turn of foot found him two lengths to the good at the wire in a time of  1:23.08. 

Shadwell’s Kentucky-bred Zainhom (Street Cry) finished third, four lengths behind Sand Castle. 

Eliza Park International bred Barney Roy in Great Britain and Godolphin interests purchased the flashy blaze-faced colt from Potensis Bloodstock during the winter. Trained by Richard Hannon, who still conditions the undefeated bay, Barney Roy had won his only start at 2. 

Barney Roy is the first stakes winner from the first crop of German classic winner Excelebration, a son of Godolphin’s Exceed And Excel who stands at Coolmore Stud in both Ireland and Australia. 

His dam is the non-winning Galileo mare Alina, a daughter of multiple group 3 winner Cheyenne Star who descends from the family of Kentucky Oaks winner Hidden Talent.

Also for the Gosden barn, Shadwell’s 4-year-old gray colt Muntahaa (Dansili) won the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise (John Porter) Stakes, his first graded victory.