Inspiral's Strength Rewarded as Top Female Turf Horse

Cheveley Park Stud's remarkable mare, Inspiral (GB), has gone from strength to strength, and 2023 proved to be her strongest yet, capping the year with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park. Ridden by Frankie Dettori and conditioned by John and Thady Gosden in England, the Frankel (GB) mare has cemented her spot on the podium as the 2023 Eclipse champion female turf horse. Inspiral trained up to the Breeders' Cup Championship with a win a month prior in the one-mile Sun Chariot Stakes (G1) at Newmarket; the gutsy mare carrying the red silks and blue cap took on the leaders and continued to make steady headway until kicking clear with one furlong to go. Given a 55-day vacation ahead of Newmarket, Inspiral dominated at Deauville in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay Le Buffard Jacques Le Marois (G1) over both sexes Aug. 13 for a second year running. An uncharacteristic off-the-board finish Aug. 2 at Goodwood in the Sussex Stakes (G1) was attributed to the unpleasant going, which phenom Paddington (GB) relished while steamrolling the field. She made her 2023 debut at Ascot in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1), where she settled into stride, pressed the leader, and finished second to Triple Time (IRE). She closed out last year with earnings of $2,109,024 in five starts, adding to her impressive CV of 9-2-0 in 13 starts and bankroll of $3,639,932. Bred by her racing connections in Great Britain and out of the twice group 1-placed mare Starscope (GB), Inspiral is a half sibling to the stakes-placed Celestran (GB), by Dansili. The Selkirk mare, bred and campaigned by Cheveley Park Stud, had a full sibling filly to Inspiral for 2023. Undefeated at 2, Inspiral won a maiden weight for age over seven furlongs on first asking in 2021, then won the E.B.F. Star Stakes a month later by 3 1/2 lengths over the same distance; in September, she took the May Hill Stakes (G2) by 3 3/4 lengths at a mile and closed out her juvenile year with a win in the Fillies' Mile (G1) again at a mile with a 2 1/2-length margin over the field. The following year, she collected a victory in the Coronation Stakes (G1) on debut by 4 3/4 lengths at Ascot, was runner-up in the Falmouth Stakes (G1), captured the Prix du Haras de Fresnay Le Buffard Jacques Le Marois by a neck, and finished off the board in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) at Ascot.