RACEHORSES aren’t machines, but Sun Goddess is as close as it gets.
Aidan O’Brien’s praised his “freak” wonder filly as she scorched to Cheveley Park success in a course record time.
She only ran 13 days ago, when bolting up over seven furlongs in the Moyglare at the Curragh on soft ground.
But she had no trouble at all dropping back in distance on a quick surface against the fastest two-year-old fillies in this country.
The sky is the limit for Sun Goddess, and O’Brien could barely contain his enthusiasm after his 19th Group 1 win of the season.
He said: “That is a massive run after winning over further on slow ground the other week, it was some totally different conditions today.
“It was a massive test and she’s passed it. She looks a freak, doesn’t she?
“You have to remember she’s a two-year-old filly racing at the top level every day, it’s incredible and I can’t remember having one that classy, with that speed and distance range before, she looks really unusual.”
She was backed as though defeat was out of the question in the minutes before the race, though there were one or two moments of concern for anyone who took the 5-6.
As stablemate Snowing and Andrew Balding’s Moonrise set a frantic early gallop, she was one of the first of the six runners to come off the bridle.
But as she went into the Rowley Mile’s infamous dip and out the other side, the afterburners engaged and she mowed down Libertango (13-2) to win going away by a length in 69.08 seconds – a new record.
The bookies cut her into 7-4 from 5-2 for next year’s 1,000 Guineas, and she should be even better next year when stepping back up in trip.
And provided she comes out of the race in good shape, she will soon join a huge team from Ballydoyle at the Breeders’ Cup next month.
O’Brien continued: “She’s big and doesn’t look like a two-year-old, she’s more like a three-year-old and a massive big specimen.
“Even if she didn’t change any from now until next year she would be plenty big and would still be considered a big three-year-old.
“We’d thought all along about the Breeders’ Cup for her. We’ll see how she is after this and whether she is ready to go or not.
“She thrives on her racing and she seems very happy. She’s had a busy season and she still doesn’t seem to be near her limit.”
Orthodox (7-2) got his career back on track with a narrow win in the Middle Park Stakes.
He bombed out in the Prix Morny last time, but he was back to his best at Newmarket as he wore down Force Noir (28-1) to win by a neck in a bunched finish.
Winning trainer Clive Cox said: “We always had confidence in him and it was always a question of whether he’d handle the track, as we knew he’d like the ground.
“I’m just thrilled he has shown here what we all see at home, as he is pretty special in the mornings and he’s special in the afternoons as well.
“He’s tough and very able and it was a big team effort to get him here, I’m over the moon.
“We’ll see how he comes out of it, but the Breeders’ Cup is a possiblity.”