Deepone opens European Road with front-running victory in Beresford

Trainer Paddy Twomey was resolved to employ a more forward running style after the colt’s latest loss, a fourth when held up off the pace in the Sept. 9 Champions Juvenile (G2) during the Irish Champions Festival. Jockey Billy Lee executed the game plan to perfection, and Deepone used his early speed to beat off the Aidan O’Brien armada.

Initially attending Chief Little Rock, one of the trio from Ballydoyle, Deepone soon forged clear and turned the one-mile affair into a catch-me-if-you-can. Down the homestretch, the O’Brien colts were all flat out in pursuit, but unable to make much of a dent on the leader. Chief Little Rock and stablemate Grosvenor Square eventually reduced the margin without threatening.

Deepone held sway by a comfortable 1 3/4 lengths while clocking 1:41.42 on the yielding-to-soft course. The first to top the European Road leaderboard with 10 points, the son of 2018 French Derby (G1) hero Study of Man is expected to plot a course to that Derby at Chantilly, not Churchill Downs. 

Chief Little Rock just edged Grosvenor Square for runner-up honors. Another 1 1/2 lengths back came favored stablemate Navy Seal, who checked in a one-paced fourth. The Joseph O’Brien-trained Stromberg, the co-second choice with Deepone at 3-1, was a lackluster fifth. The second through fifth also earned European Road points, on a 5-3-2-1 basis, respectively. The 150-1 Ozark Daze trailed home a tailed-off last. 

Deepone’s resume now reads 5-3-1-0. An impressive debut winner May 19 at Leopardstown, the bay made it two straight with another daylight victory July 19 at Killarney. He was dispatched as the odds-on favorite again in the Aug. 11 Churchill S. at Tipperary, but sustained his first loss as the runner-up. Last time out in the Champions Juvenile, Deepone couldn’t get nearer than fourth in a race dominated by forwardly-placed rivals, highly-regarded Diego Velazquez and pacesetting Capulet. Taking a page from their playbook helped him here.

The Beresford was part of a banner day for Twomey and Lee. The trainer/jockey tandem later combined to win the Goffs Million, the richest race for two-year-olds in Europe, as their debutante One Look foiled another Ballydoyle favorite, Cherry Blossom. 

Bred by Andreas Bezzola in Great Britain, Deepone is the first major winner for sire Study of Man, whose first crop is just hitting the racecourse this season. Study of Man is himself a blueblood by Japanese great Deep Impact and out of Second Happiness, a daughter of Storm Cat and two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) legend Miesque.

Deepone’s dam, Avyanna, is likewise royally bred. By supersire Galileo and out of multiple Group 1 queen My Emma, Avyanna comes from the immediate family of such top-level performers as Classic Cliche, Mizzou, and Al Riffa.