ANY temptation to retire Queen Of The Pride, a daughter of Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy), to stud after she won a 10-furlong maiden last year on her second start was resisted by Sheikh Fahad and his advisors, and their decision was justified when the now four-year-old improved on a runner-up finish at Goodwood in a listed race to capture the Group 3 Pinnacle Stakes at Haydock.

These performances have come from only four career stars. Maturity and a step up to a mile and a half seem to be the key to Queen Of The Pride’s improvement, and would indicate that she is very much her mother’s daughter. Her dam was Simple Verse (Duke Of Marmalade), and Queen Of The Pride is her second foal, but just her first runner.