Mo Celita Claims Listed Honours in Deauville
Five-time winner Mo Celita landed her sixth victory this season when she claimed the Listed Prix Moonlight Cloud over 6f at Deauville on Sunday recording a landmark success for trainer Adrian Nicholls.
The three-year-old daughter of Camacho broke well from the middle of the pack to make the running. Pressing on under a powerful ride from Hollie Doyle. She maintained her lead as the field poised to pounce but Mo Celita kept finding more to hold off her rivals by three quarters of a length.
The Listed winner and Gr.3 Prix Djebel-placed Prince Lancelot claimed second, a short neck in front of previous Listed winner Vallorica, who had finished fourth in the Gr.1 Prix Jean Prat, and it was a further short neck back to Gr.3 Prix Eclipse-placed Stardevote in fourth.
Front-running seems to be her style and when it works out like that she finds it so easy,” said Doyle. “We went quick early on and then I was just filling her up and letting her slide. I was in a really nice rhythm and I was always happy with her.
“Adrian said six furlongs might just test her because she has so much speed but she’s seen it out fine.
“It’s excellent for connections and with David Redvers and David Howden now owning her, it’s great she’s now got black type.”
Mo Celita was bred by Derek Veitch’s Ringfort Stud and and is the third winner and runner out of the winning Motivator mare Asterism. She is out of the Listed winner Star Cluster, who is a half-sister to the Gr.2 scorer and Gr.1 placed Didina, whose black-type performers include the dam of the Gr.1 hero and sire Cityscape and the Gr.2 victor and Gr.1-placed sire Bated Breath.
