Garden Of Eden Blooms Brightly in the Ribblesdale Stakes

The daughter of Saxon Warrior scored with class to hand Aidan O’Brien yet another Royal Ascot success, as the master of Ballydoyle captured the Ribblesdale Stakes for the third consecutive year

Garden of Eden continues to progress and looks destined for top-level company in the near future / ROYAL ASCOT

BERKSHIRE, Ascot (Special for Turf Diario).- Garden Of Eden showcased her continued progression with a commanding display in Thursday’s G2 Ribblesdale Stakes (12f, turf) at Royal Ascot, handing Aidan O’Brien a third consecutive win in the prestigious contest for 3-year-old fillies.

With Ryan Moore riding in peak form, the daughter of Saxon Warrior tracked a strong pace set by Island Hopping(Wootton Bassett), before being asked for her effort in the straight. She responded with real authority, quickening clear with ease to score by 3 1/4 lengths. The unexpected runner-up was Understudy (Sea The Stars), while Catalina Delcarpio (Lope de Vega), the favorite, finished a further half-length back in third.

Undefeated in two prior starts this season, including a Listed win at Naas, Garden Of Eden appears to be thriving as the distances stretch out. She now joins Warm Heart (Galileo, 2023) and Port Fairy (Australia, 2022) in Ballydoyle’s recent trio of Ribblesdale heroines.

“I’m very impressed,” O’Brien said. “Garden Of Eden keeps improving, which is always a good sign. We always felt she’d benefit from going further. Her sire, Saxon Warrior, tends to throw horses that come into themselves over a trip. We’re thinking about the Irish Oaks, but there’s also a chance she could travel to the U.S. for a Grade 1. We’ll see.”

Moore echoed the trainer’s praise: “She was very impressive. She’s taken a step forward with every run. Aidan’s always said she’d improve as she went up in distance, and he was right. They went a good gallop today, and she lost a bit of contact with the field at one point, but when I asked her, she responded like a filly of real quality.”

Understudy, a recent maiden winner at Southwell, turned heads with a bold effort in just her third start. Co-trainer Thady Gosden said: “It was a big class jump today, and you never quite know how they’ll handle it. But she showed plenty of promise and comes from a deep family—there’s a lot to build on.”

Trainer Paddy Twomey reflected on Catalina Delcarpio’s third-place finish: “She’s a filly with a lot of talent. I just think she didn’t quite see it out today—maybe the trip was a bit much for her at this stage. She’ll be better with more maturity, especially next year. We skipped Epsom as we felt it wasn’t the right time. I doubt she’ll go to the Irish Oaks; something like the G2 Blandford Stakes over ten furlongs with a break might suit her perfectly.”