Bedtime Story puts rivals to sleep in Chesham

Bedtime Story shot to the head of ante-post lists for next year’s Newmarket 1000 Guineas following a scintillating display in the Chesham Stakes on the final day at Royal Ascot.

A winner as an apparent second string for Aidan O’Brien at Leopardstown little over a fortnight ago, the daughter of Frankel and top-class sprinting mare Mecca’s Angel was a well-supported 11-8 favourite to double her tally.

Always travelling well in the slipstream of the keen-going pacesetter Motawahij, Bedtime Story left her rivals standing once given her head by Ryan Moore, accelerating an astonishing nine and a half lengths clear of her toiling rivals, with Pentle Bay pipping Brian to the runner-up spot.

O’Brien said: “We never let her go before, it’s the first time we’ve asked her to stretch and she just took off. We’ve treated her gently, she has unbelievable pedigree and she’s obviously very special.

“It’s unusual for a filly to do that, she’d won nicely first time but we thought she was a Group One filly.
“You all saw what I saw, we won’t be looking for one that’s better, that is for sure.”

Moore said: “The only I time worked was pulling up really. She travelled very easy, they’ve gone too slow for her really.

“I had room at the three so we started going forward and the race was over very quickly. Obviously, she’s a level above all of them.”

When asked about comparisons with the stable’s Albany Stakes winner Fairy Godmother, he added: “It’s a hard one. They haven’t really been asked to do too much at home. We don’t know a whole about them, we don’t know what they’ve beaten yet, but they are two very exciting fillies.

“A performance like that, you don’t see normally.”