Rebel Moon kept her unbeaten record intact for Joseph O’Brien and Dylan Browne McMonagle at Naas on Wednesday, winning the Group 3 Al Shira’aa Racing Irish EBF Jannah Rose Stakes by a neck.
The Lope De Vega filly arrived with only a Gowran Park maiden win behind her, but the step into Pattern company did not blunt her progress. Settled in fourth by Browne McMonagle, she moved into the race early in the straight and had to fight hard to get by the listed winner Caught U Looking.
That battle made the performance more persuasive rather than less. Rebel Moon was still learning on the job, yet she found enough in the final furlong to win by a neck, with five lengths back to Cameo, the Epsom Oaks fifth, in third.
Irish Oaks Door Opens For Rebel Moon
The Irish Examiner reported that O’Brien pointed to the strength of her Gowran form and said a lung infection had forced the team to take their time after that debut win.
The trainer also left bigger targets on the table, with the Irish Oaks and races in France both mentioned as possible next steps. He added that Rebel Moon should have no problem with a mile and a half in time.
For a filly owned by the race sponsors, this was already a neat result. For O’Brien, it also looks like the arrival of a middle-distance prospect with the temperament and stamina profile to matter beyond Naas.
