Goodwood: 2-year-old Lady Iman earns Breeders' Cup berth

Irish raider Lady Iman justified 11-8 favoritism with a smooth display in the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes for trainer Ger Lyons and jockey Ryan Moore.

The daughter of Starman proved well suited by the drop back to the minimum trip, having lost her unbeaten record when second to Ballydoyle filly Beautify in a six-furlong Group 2 at the Curragh last time.

Having travelled nicely into the race toward the far side, Lady Iman put the race to bed with a smart change of gear and went on to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Newmarket listed winner Argentine Tango was second, with Windsor Castle Stakes runner-up Dickensian third.

Lady Iman gains a guaranteed start in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, a race Lyons won last year with Magnum Force.

“The Breeders’ Cup is where I’d like to go, but I don’t own her,” Lyons said. “We won it last year with Magnum Force, and as Ryan just said, if Lady Iman gets a low draw at Del Mar, she wins it. she’s proper.

“I went there last year and I can promise you I never got a thrill like it. It is not all about me, I don't own this horse, but if I can dance on that dance floor again, I'm going as that is what racing is about for me. What an end of a season. What a show they put on and to be part of it and to win it, wow. I promise you if I can get a taste of that again, I'll be there.

“I don’t like taking on the older horses, but you’ve got to listen to the experts. Ryan says the Nunthorpe too, but I wouldn’t know the Nunthorpe if it bit me on the arse. If that’s what the owners want to do…we’ll get her home first.

“Lady Iman is pretty straightforward but I dropped the ball. I say I dropped the ball, but she was doing everything I asked of her, and it took a good horse of Aidan’s (Beautify, trained by Aidan O'Brien) to beat her over six furlongs the last day. I genuinely don’t think that man has trained better than he is this year. His horses are stepping forward from race to race like I’ve never seen before, and that’s not fluke, that’s pure talent. He’s got some cracking 2-year-olds and that Queen Mary winner (True Love), which we beat, she’s a proper racehorse and to see the size of her, the scope of her and the temperament of her. I am walking into these monsters day in and day out, so it’s nice to get this win.

“I really feel for Colin (Keane, her suspended regular rider) today though, as he’s not a whip man. The day they put a number on the whip they opened a new bag of worms and ruined it. That’s not who he is. It is a huge slap on the wrist for him, but he will learn from it.”

“Lady Iman has been held in high regard,” Moore said. “She has shown very good form and is a very fast filly. She was cantering all over the back of them at the two and I ended up getting there too early, but I didn't want to be taking her back and then something go wrong.

“She is a smart filly and it’s great to ride Ger a winner. She would be good enough for that race (Breeders' Cup Turf Juvenile Sprint) if she got a good draw, and she'd be well able to win it. Obviously, if you go over there you need things to go in your favor as well.”