Estrange delivered the first Group 1 win of her career in Saturday’s Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh, powering clear under Daniel Tudhope for David O’Meara as Oaks winner Thundering On finished only fourth.
A GROUP 1 BREAKTHROUGH
The Cheveley Park Stud mare arrived with strong form but still had to prove she could convert it at the top table. She did that emphatically over 1m2f, travelling into the race with authority before quickening away from One Look in the closing stages.
Sky Sports Racing reported that Estrange, sent off at 13/8, scored by a length and a half from One Look, with Red Letter third and Thundering On unable to land a blow after much of the pre-race focus had centred on the Epsom heroine. Tudhope’s mount was described as having produced a “brilliant performance” in a result that immediately sharpened her autumn profile.
Arc Talk Returns After Curragh Breakthrough
The win matters because Estrange had twice placed at Group 1 level last season and was withdrawn from the 2025 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe after a dirty scope. O’Meara now has the breakthrough he needed before mapping out the second half of the campaign.
Bookmakers reacted quickly, cutting Estrange for the Arc and the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood. O’Meara said the Arc remains a race connections would “love” to target, but the immediate story is simpler: Estrange has gone from high-class nearly filly to proven Group 1 winner.
