Dark Moon Rising ascends in Cardinal Conditions on European Road
Mar 31, 2022
Going into the final event on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby, Thursday’s Cardinal Conditions S. at Chelmsford, much of the focus was on the trio coming out of the points race at Kempton. But they were all upstaged by Dark Moon Rising, who scored a mild 6-1 upset in his sophomore bow.
The Cardinal offered points on a 30-12-6-3 scale to the top four finishers, but none is nominated to the Triple Crown. Thus Dark Moon Rising’s 30-point coup, vaulting him to the top of a European Road leaderboard devoid of nominees, is of academic interest only.
Trained by Kevin Ryan and piloted by Kevin Stott, Dark Moon Rising raced prominently in the mile affair on Polytrack, his first start on an all-weather surface. In contrast, well-fancied Blue Trail and favored Harrow, the top two from Kempton’s Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions S., were held up off the pace.
Dark Moon Rising attended frontrunning Mr Professor early, then eased back into a stalking third when Find ranged up to prompt the issue. Turning for home, Dark Moon Rising pounced on Find and the weakening Mr Professor and forged clear.
Harrow rallied on the inside, but Dark Moon Rising kept on rolling to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:37.99. Find placed third again, as at Kempton, only this time a further two lengths behind. Blue Trail failed to run up to his Kempton form in a flat fourth. Next came the maiden Atheby and Mr Professor.
Mrs. Angie Bailey’s Dark Moon Rising advanced his record to 5-2-1-1. Consistent since his seventh on debut at York last May, the bay won at Beverley, missed by a nose in a Haydock novice, and rounded out his juvenile campaign with a third in a nursery (a handicap for two-year-olds) Oct. 9 back at York.
Dark Moon Rising was bred by N. Al Habtoor in Ireland and sold twice at auction, bringing €75,000 as a Goffs November weanling and 80,000 guineas as a yearling at Tattersalls October. By the Dubawi stallion Night of Thunder, he is out of Al Nassa, a Bernardini mare from the family of multiple Grade 1 winner Composure.
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