Impressive Maiden Winner By In-Form Churchill

While Churchill celebrated a Stakes double on Saturday, Donnacha O’Brien won a pair of Naas maidens with daughters of the sire.

Uncanny (2f Churchill – Eos, by Declaration Of War) was first to score and did so in impressive style, landing the mile maiden by five and a half lengths under Gavin Ryan.

Runner-up on both her previous starts, she was sent off favourite and her rider later revealed they had been confident of her chances. “She’s a filly that we’ve always liked a lot,” he said. “She has plenty of class about her and we knew if we could get some company a long way down the track then she would be very hard to beat. She’s quickened up and put it to bed very easily.”

A step up in class is presumably now on the cards for Uncanny, who is owned by Mrs John Magnier and Mrs Ann Marie O’Brien. She was bred by Whisperview Trading out of a half-sister to Grade 1 performer Mountain Bear (No Nay Never) and the Group 3-placed Moon Daisy (Australia).

Her promising stablemate Whispersinthewind (3f Churchill – Empowering, by Encosta De Lago) led home a 1-2 for Coolmore sires in the finale, the fillies maiden over seven furlongs.

The daughter of Churchill had placed on her first two starts, which both came over Saturday’s trip and raced in touch with the leaders under Gavin Ryan. Ridden to lead inside the final furlong, she ran on well to beat the favourite Finsceal Luas (Camelot) by half a length, with the pair finishing three lengths and three quarters clear of the third.

The close relation to dual Group winner Mohawk (Galileo) is owned by Mrs Ann Marie O’Brien and was bred by Whisperview Trading.