CATHOLIC BOY got off the mark on Sunday when his daughter Lady d’Oro became his first winner with a 3 3/4 length victory for owner-trainer Leopoldo Ortega.
Making her debut on the turf after running on the dirt in her first start, Lady d’Oro was just behind the leaders in the five furlong race and made it clear she was ready to go whenever Samuel Marin unleashed her. The leader bolted away from the rest of the field around the turn and gave Lady d’Oro plenty of work to do if she wanted to catch her but the CATHOLIC BOY juvenile was up for the task.
Swung to the outside of the leader, Lady d’Oro showed off a big turn of foot to pass the leader in midstretch. No one was able to catch Lady d’Oro as she bolted away to a 3 ¾ length win as the first winner for her sire.
Bred by Lauren West, Val Henson, and Jonathan Thomas, Lady d’Oro is the third winner from three to race out of Popstar. That mare is a granddaughter of multiple graded stakes winner and Grade 1 placed Advancing Star.
CATHOLIC BOY broke his own maiden on debut before winning graded stakes on both the dirt and turf during his juvenile season. He’d go on to win Grade 1s on both surfaces as a 3-year-old.