Sioux Nation Off To Fastest Possible Start At The Curragh

Freshman sire Sioux Nation got off to the best possible start on Saturday when his first runner, Ocean Quest (2f Sioux Nation - Gold Zain, by Aqlaam), took the first race of the 2022 Irish turf season.

The Jessica Harrington-trained filly was well-supported in the market for the five furlong Curragh maiden and was positioned behind the leader by Shane Foley. Short of room at a pivotal point, she ran on well when switched wide and got up to win by a head on the line.

“Shane said she was very professional,” the winning trainer later commented. There should be much more to come from her charge, with Harrington adding, “She was never away once and is probably a six-furlong filly.”

Owned by J Kirklanda and bred by Dr TK Chah, Ocean Quest mirrors the precocity of her sire, with Sioux Nation having broken his maiden impressively in May of his two-year-old career. He landed the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes the following month and followed up in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes. It is perhaps then unsurprising that the son of Scat Daddy is a short-priced favourite to be champion first crop sire this year.