Del Mar Oaks (Grade 1)

THE Graham Motion-trained Spendarella rebounded from her second in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and captured her first top-level win in California, racing away with the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks last weekend.

Graham Motion’s Karakontie filly faced a field of 12 rivals in the nine-furlong Oaks and was sent off favourite under Tyler Gaffalione.

Phil D’Amato ran the first three in the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes with Bellabel going off as the 7/2 second choice,

Gracelund Gray led early from Cairo Memories. Gafflione let Spendarella race in third behind early fractions to a half mile in 47.05secs. When asked for her effort, she was ridden to lead a furlong and a half out and then moved clear comfortably to win by four and a half lengths in 1m 47.09secs. Bellabel passed Cairo Memories to get second.

On track, Motion’s assistant trainer Alice Clapham said: “When he got the nice spot coming in the bend and she relaxed it was like, if she’s good enough, she’s going to win. And then when she kicked for home and left them, that was pretty incredible.

“She’s very laid back so the travelling, so far, doesn’t seem to affect her.”

Motion trains New York-bred Spendarella for owner-breeder Gainesway Thoroughbreds. Unraced at two, Spendarella she won her three outings before Royal Ascot where, with jockey William Buick, she finished second to Inspiral who since went on to run second in the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes and win the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois at Deauville.

Moria motors home in record Queens Plate

CANADA’s feature race the $1 million Queens Plate saw a dominant performance by the three-year-old filly Moira, as the daughter of Ghostzapper swept to a seven-length victory for trainer Kevin Attard and jockey Rafael Manuel Hernandez.

It was a display to match her 10-and-three-quarter-length victory last month in the Woodbine Oaks, her 10-furlong time of 2m 1.38secs on Woodbine’s synthetic surface was the fastest in the 163-year history of the race, as she became the 38th filly to win the Queen’s Plate.

She let the boys dictate for the first three-quarters of a mile, settling toward the rear. Seventh after six furlongs, she was third a mile into the race, moved to the front after the final turn and increased her margin to the finish without coming under pressure from her rider, pumping his fist in celebration.

“She’s something else. She is so special,” said Hernandez, who was winnng his second Queen’s Plate after Shaman Ghost in 2015.

Moira has won her three of her 2022 outings and became the eighth filly to notch the Oaks-Plate double, joining quailty fillies like Dance Smartly, Flaming Page, Holy Helena, Inglorious, and Lexie Lou.

Also at Woodbine on Sunday, Fev Rover, a Gutaifan filly who raced in Britain by Nick Bradley Racing and Partners, won the nine-furlong Grade 2 Canadian Stakes for trainer Mark Casse.