Juddmonte Group double at the Curragh

Acanella (Dansili) and Sacred Bridge (Bated Breath) gave Juddmonte and trainer Ger Lyons a Group double on Friday.

Taken from the Thoroughbred Daily News 28th August 2021:

Acanella kicked off a notable Group 3 double for Juddmonte, Ger Lyons and jockey Colin Keane at the Curragh on Friday 27th August. She found improvement on her recent efforts to cause an upset in the Gr.3 Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes. Unable to reach the frame in three prior attempts at blacktype company the three-year-old had the widest draw to contend with which set Keane a quandary from the outset. Opting to go forward on the outer his decision was rewarded as the homebred gained first run on Champers Elysees when hitting the front approaching the furlong pole. Getting to the line three-quarters of a length in front of last year's Gr.1 Matron Stakes heroine, the winner was justifying connections' belief.

"We're delighted and she's done what we were hoping for all year," Shane Lyons commented. "She's a big filly that is only filling into her frame and will be even better next year. She did everything right for the first time today. She broke well, she travelled well for Colin and, while she's not ground-dependent, she loved that. She'll get a bit further if she has to and next year is going to be fun for her."

Acanella is the first winner out of Across The Floor (Oasis Dream) - a half-sister to multiple Gr.1 winner Flintshire.

Two-year-old Bated Breath filly Sacred Bridge took her impressive record to four-from-four in emphatic fashion in the next race on the card, the Gr.3 Round Tower Stakes. Always travelling strongly tracking Geocentric in second among the main group racing up the centre, the favourite strode to the front approaching the two-furlong pole. Staying on powerfully from there, the bay had upstaged that stablemate by three and three-quarter lengths at the line.

Shane Lyons commented: "She was very impressive. We'll freshen her up now and go for the [Gr.1] Cheveley Park [at Newmarket]."

Sacred Bridge is a full sister to Gr.1 Matriarch Stakes winner Viadera and comes from the family of Gr.1 winners Twice Over, Timepiece and Passage Of Time.