Lockinge repeat for Cheveley Park Stud as Audience emulates granddam Peeress

It was a leap to imagine that Inspiral's intended pacemaker Audience would outlast a Group 1 field in Saturday's Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes but there was a clue or two in his pedigree.

The Cheveley Park Stud homebred has been from a long line produced in Newmarket. Audience's granddam is Peeress, the ultra-consistent Pivotal mare who won this same race under Kieren Fallon for Sir Michael Stoute back in 2006. As Cheveley Park owner Patricia Thompson pointed out, Audience is also the half-brother to Esquire, who caused another surprise in last month's Greenham Stakes on the same Newbury track.

"It's amazing, we're getting very good at geldings, I think," Thompson said, describing the siblings as being from a "fiery family" and a reason for both no longer being colts.

Cheveley Park was winning the event for the sixth time since 1986, a list which started with Scottish Reel and includes Medicean, Russian Rhythm and Virtual, as well as two more for the Thompsons as individual owners with Safawan and Polar Falcon.

Audience was a 12th Group 1 winner for his Darley-based sire Iffraaj, who has the 2017 Lockinge scorer among them in the top-class miler and now sire Ribchester. Peeress has been the dam of five winners, the best of which proved to be Audience's dam Ladyship. She won at Listed level over seven furlongs at Chester.

Middle Earth (right) beats King Of Conquest in the Aston Park StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Earlier on the card, the sole crop of Roaring Lion delivered a new Group winner as Middle Earth claimed the Sky Sports Racing Aston Park Stakes.

Connections were reminded of the late Tweenhills stallion as he overhauled King Of Conquest in the same Qatar Racing silks. He was bred out of Qatar mare Roheryn, an Irish Listed winner by Galileo out of Albany Stakes scorer La Chunga who has already produced another black-type winner in Buckaroo.

"I loved the way he stuck his neck out, it was quite reminiscent of the old man Roaring Lion, really trying," said Tweenhills owner David Redvers, who told Sky Sports Racing that Middle Earth's prime objective would be the Melbourne Cup.

"We've got a few Roaring Lions down in Australia now, all with the same target, so it’ll be interesting to see," he added.

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