A well-bred pair of WAR FRONT juvenile fillies impressed on Wednesday when they turned an Irish maiden into their own personal match race on debut. Battling to the line, winner Yet emerged with Thoroughbred Daily News Rising Star status.
Racing over five furlong on Dundalk’s synthetic surface, Yet was just behind the leader early on with fellow WAR FRONT runner Orinoco River in third. As they straightened for home, Yet was asked to run by jockey Seamie Heffernan with Orinoco River the only one to stay anywhere near the winner. It was a battle between the WAR FRONTs as they entered a duel to the line that saw Aidan O’Brien-trained Yet win by a neck over the race favorite Orinoco River.
The pair were all alone at the line with the third placed runner 7 ½ lengths back of the pair co-owned by the Coolmore partners. Yet also sees Geog von Opel’s Westerberg included in her ownership.
“She’s a massive two-year-old. She had been working well and she’s done it well,” Heffernan told Thoroughbred Daily News. “She has plenty of size to her, but she doesn’t feel weak. I think I got headed, but her heart is in the right place.”
Bred by Orpendale, Chelston, and Wynatt, Yet is the first foal out of Giant’s Causeway’s Group 3-placed half-sister Butterflies.
It was the second update this week for bluehen Mariah’s Storm, who also saw granddaughter Joan Of Arc win the G3 Irish One Thousand Guineas Trial. Also in the family is Joan Of Arc’s classic winning full siblings Gleneagles and Marvellous and European Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Happily. Three different Mariah’s Storm daughters have produced group winners with Pearling the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Decorated Knight and Love Me Only the dam of Group 2 and Group 1-placed Storm The Stars.
Trained by Donnacha O’Brien, Orinoco River is owned by the same partnership and bred by Orpendale and Chelston. The filly is the third winner from four runners out of Coin Broker, who is also the dam of Grade 3 winner and multiple Grade 1 winner Donna Veloce. Coin Broker is a full sister to Great War Eagle and a daughter of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner Cash Run. Orinoco River’s third dam is Grade 1 winner and producer Shared Interest.