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    Bedtime Story ended the race after the two-furlong pole
Bedtime Story ended the race after the two-furlong pole
Bedtime Story. Source: bloodhorse.com

Bedtime Story ended the race after the two-furlong pole

Aidan O'Brien's stable unveiled yet another star juvenile as Bedtime Story, a 2-year-old filly by Frankel, delivered a dazzling performance in the Chesham Stakes on June 22 at Royal Ascot. Coming into the listed race with high expectations after her maiden win earlier this month, Bedtime Story exceeded all hopes by cruising to a dominant victory, finishing 9 1/2 lengths ahead of her rivals.

Ridden by Ryan Moore, Bedtime Story demonstrated a remarkable turn of foot, effectively ending the race after the two-furlong pole. Moore had little to do as the filly effortlessly distanced herself from the field. The win left her connections astounded and prompted bookmakers to make her the 3-1 favourite for next year's One Thousand Guineas (G1).

"I'm speechless, really," said Derrick Smith, whose purple and white silks were worn by the 11-8 favourite. "Ryan said he didn't touch her, and you can see for yourselves, it's unreal. I honestly couldn't believe it. To win like that is so special."

Bedtime Story bred out of top sprinter Mecca's Angel, recorded the largest winning margin of the Royal Ascot fixture this year. She ran 0.68 seconds faster than any of her rivals between the second and final furlong, and 0.49 seconds quicker on the drive to the line.

Her victory overshadowed that of her stablemate Fairy Godmother, who had won the Albany Stakes (G3) a day earlier and was subsequently demoted to second favourite for the Newmarket Classic. "Yesterday was good but by my own eyes, she's the one," added Smith. "I've been wrong before, though!"

Winning jockey Ryan Moore, who notched his sixth win of the meeting, found it difficult to compare the two fillies. "They haven't been asked to do too much at home. We don't know a lot about them, and we don't know what they've beaten yet, but they are two very exciting fillies," he said.

Bedtime Story's effortless performance left a strong impression on Moore. "She travelled very easily, and they've gone too slow for her. I had room at the three, so we started going forward, and the race was over very quickly. She is a level above all of them. A performance like that, you don't see normally."

Aidan O'Brien, who claimed a record-extending seventh win in the Chesham, expressed his amazement. "We never let her go before, this was the first time she was asked to stretch," he said. "Ryan said he couldn't believe it. Everyone just fell away and she took off. He didn't even give her a slap down the shoulder."

"Fairy Godmother looked good, too, but they've never worked together, we treated Bedtime Story gently. She has an unbelievable pedigree, and she's homebred, so it's obviously very special ... We thought she was probably a group 1 filly, but thinking is one thing and seeing is another."

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