Starspangledbanner Filly Lands Valuable Group 2

The likeable Breege (4f Starspangledbanner – Wowcha, by Zoffany) produced a career-best performance to land Saturday’s Group 2 City Of York Stakes worth £500,000.

Trained by John and Sean Quinn, the Chasemore Farm homebred placed in a number of Stakes races before landing a Group 3 in June. Partnered by Colin Keane at York, she raced at the back of the field for much of the way and began to make her move approaching the two furlong marker. Ridden to lead approaching the final furlong, she kept on well to score by a length and a half

“We worked her on Monday morning and she went particularly well,” Sean Quinn later explained. “John said to me that's the best he's ever seen her work. This wasn't the plan at that stage, but he said let's take her down the road as there's a heap of money on offer and let's try to get as much of it as we can.”

Looking ahead, the co-trainer continued, “All the big seven-furlong races are on the table now. She's not in the Prix de la Foret, but we might have to speak about supplementing her. She's won a hell of a lot of prize-money today, so there's a bit of fat on our backs now.”

“Breege has always shown a little bit of class,” John Quinn added. “Before she won a Group race [at Epsom] she'd been placed in five Group and Listed races.”

The daughter of Starspangledbanner is the best performer out of Wowcha, herself a half-sister to John Quinn’s Coventry Stakes and Prix Morny winner The Wow Signal (Starspangledbanner).