Queen Of The Pride does her parents proud at Haydock

Queen Of The Pride understandably means a lot to her connections, so the fact she landed her first Group race in the Betfred Nifty 50 Lester Piggott Fillies’ Stakes at Haydock brought a great sense of satisfaction.

She wears the maroon colours of owner Sheikh Fahad’s Qatar Racing, as did both her sire Roaring Lion and dam Simple Verse.

Roaring Lion was undoubtedly the best to carry the Qatar silks to date and just like Queen Of The Pride (9-2) he was trained at Clarehaven Stables in Newmarket.

At the time John Gosden was the only name on the licence, ably assisted by his son Thady, who now shares the main role.

Second in Listed company at Goodwood when showing signs of greenness for Robert Havlin, she was much more tractable this time under Oisin Murphy, who guided her to a short-head win over the fast-finishing Lady Boba.

Murphy said: “Both her parents were Group One winners so she means a lot to us.

“She’s obviously been slow to come to hand, but she’s been looked after and now we are reaping the rewards.

“She was definitely more straightforward today. It’s only her fourth run after all. Rab said he thought she’d go very well today in a race with more pace on and nicer ground, less hard work.

“She was really easy to ride and I love the way she finished and galloped out.”

He went on: “I think she’ll get further, but whether she needs to go further than a mile and a half I don’t know yet.

“When I was pulling up I was thinking of the Prix de Royallieu, the mile and six race on Arc weekend might be for her but I’m sure John, Thady and Sheikh Fahad can think about that.”

The William Haggas-trained Sea Theme could finish only fourth as the handler aimed to win the race named after his late father-in-law for the third successive year.