Blast From The Past: Irish 1000 Guineas

Historically, it tends to take a slightly better performance to win the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket than it does to win its Irish equivalent at the Curragh three weeks later. Not every Newmarket winner goes on to Ireland, of course, but it’s still somewhat surprising that when Attraction followed up her Newmarket win at the Curragh in 2004, she became the first filly ever to complete the Guineas double. Only Finsceal Beo three years later has emulated her since.

Attraction had much less to prove at the Curragh (where she was supplemented) than she had when making her reappearance at Newmarket weeks earlier. Although unbeaten at two when Timeform rated her the best of her sex (form already good enough to win most Guineas), her first season had ended prematurely in July and she returned at Newmarket from a ten-month absence during which she’d cracked a bone in her foot among other setbacks.

By making all at Newmarket, she not only showed that her problems were behind her but also conclusively put paid to any doubts about her stamina over a mile having shown an abundance of speed as a two-year-old.

Now unbeaten in six starts, Attraction was sent off the 2/1 favourite for the Irish 1000 Guineas with two other British-trained fillies rated her biggest threats. Secret Charm had finished strongly behind Attraction at Newmarket to finish fifth after being hampered, while Illustrious Miss was also supplemented after making it two from two with an impressive win against older fillies in a Group 3 contest at Lingfield. Aidan O’Brien fielded five runners in the fifteen-strong line-up, but the chief Irish contender according to the betting was Alexander Goldrun, a recent Group 3 winner herself at Leopardstown.

The Curragh is a slightly stiffer track than Newmarket’s Rowley Mile but conditions on a very hot day again put the emphasis on speed and Attraction never looked in danger of defeat after regular rider Kevin Darley soon had her in the lead again.

This was one Irish 1000 Guineas which did take more winning than the Newmarket version. Alexander Goldrun, who chased Attraction throughout and finished a length behind her at the line, proved another of the season’s top three-year-old fillies, subsequently stepping up to a mile and a quarter and going on to further Group 1 success at four and five.

Illustrious Miss was another two lengths back in third but was seen out only once more, in the Falmouth Stakes, the race in which Attraction finally lost her unbeaten record when going down to the year-older Soviet Song. In the meantime, Attraction had recorded a still better effort when completing a unique treble of Group 1 mile contests for three-year-old fillies by winning the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. Her best win, however, came on her final start as a three-year-old when beating the older fillies Chic and Nebraska Tornado in the Sun Chariot Stakes back at Newmarket.