American Sonja

There was a lot to like about the performance that American Sonja put up in winning the two-year-olds’ median sires series maiden at The Curragh on Thursday. Settled in mid-division in the far-side group early on, she travelled well through her race for Dylan Browne McMonagle, but the leader in the near-side group was well ahead at half-way, so she had to do a lot of running on the far side on her own. She moved to the front of the far-side group fully two furlongs out, at which stage she still had a few lengths to make up on McCauley’s Tavern, who led the near-side group. But she picked up well from there, and she went to the line strongly. She won by three and a half lengths in the end, and she finished almost five lengths clear of the next best in the far-side group.

It was a strong performance by Joseph O’Brien’s filly on just her fourth run. She had a tough race in a seven-furlong nursery at The Curragh just three weeks earlier, when she went down by a neck to Devore, to whom she was conceding 11lb. It was to her credit that she was able to bounce back here, stepping up on that performance and probably appreciating the drop back down to six furlongs. She handled this easy ground well, and she will be of interest if she races again now before the end of the season.
The Curragh, 13^th October 2022