Twilight Son gains first Group winner through Aria Importante in Italy

Aria Importante continues to prove a valuable contributor to Twilight Son's freshman stallion career as she delivered a first Group victory for the Cheveley Park resident in the Premio Primi Passi in Milan.

Bruno Grizzetti's filly has provided all of Twilight Son's three wins so far, streaking through two minor Italian races before this six-furlong event.

Receiving 3lb from colts, she was an odds-on favourite and dominated at the head of affairs, coming home a length and a quarter clear under a confident Carlo Fiocchi.

Twilight Son, the lightly-raced dual Group 1-winning sprinter, covered 220 mares in his first two books and stood for an adjusted £7,000 fee this year.

He is waiting to make his mark in Britain but his son Get It was a good fourth as a maiden in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Over in Ireland, Sonaiyla proved herself to have been money well spent as a broodmare prospect by Ennistown Stud when striking at the first attempt for new connections in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Sweet Mimosa Stakes at Cork.

The O’Coileain family’s Navan operation swooped for the filly at the last Goffs November Breeding Stock 2019, picking her up for €110,000 through BBA Ireland.

Sonaiyla is a daughter of Dark Angel from the Aga Khan's production line, tracing back to the family of his Derby and Arc winner Sinndar.

She spent two seasons in the care of Michael Halford, landing a Curragh maiden last May and rounding things off by winning a back-end handicap at Leopardstown.

Paddy Twomey, who has trained a few horses for Ennistown over the years, applied a visor and tongue-tie for her first start and she rallied to the call of jockey Billy Lee by towing along her group on the stands rail and getting home half a length in front of Back To Brussels.

Sonaiyla wins the Sweet Mimosa Stakes under Billy LeeCredit: Patrick McCann

Sonaiyla was completing a double of new stakes winners on Sunday for Yeomanstown’s Dark Angel, who has 63 of them overall.

Gussy Mac, a juvenile bred by Yeomanstown and bought for £52,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale, made it two wins in three starts for Roger Teal by flying home late under Jack Mitchell in the Listed Coral Beaten By A Length Freebet Dragon Stakes at Sandown.

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