Shuttle stallion U S Navy Flag has registered his first winner in the northern hemisphere when Ocean Vision won the Irish EBF median sires series maiden (1000m) at Dundalk on debut yesterday.
Prepared by Kieran Cotter and ridden by Jake Coen, Ocean Vision raced greenly throughout but defeated favourite Lady Tilbury by three-quarters of a length.
“He actually needs six furlongs (1200m), he was all over the place early on in the race but came home strong,” Cotter said.
“There was a lot of talk about a lot of horses here today but we knew our lad was fit and he showed it there today. He enjoyed that surface and I’d say he would want quick, decent ground. He’d have no problem moving up to six.”
U S Navy Flag was an ultra-tough two-year-old, racing 11 times for Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore partners, with gritty wins in the Gr.1 Middle Park Stakes (1200m) and Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes (1400m) supplemented with a strike in the Gr.2 Round Tower Stakes (1200m).
The son of War Front also proved a top-class performer at three, winning the Gr.1 July Cup (1200m) as well as placing second to Romanised in the Gr.1 Irish 2,000 Guineas (1600m). He retired to Coolmore for the 2019 breeding season at a fee of €25,000 and shuttled to New Zealand, with his first two seasons at Valachi Downs before relocating to The Oaks Stud last season where he stood for a fee of $15,000.
With his eldest southern hemisphere progeny yearlings, the first crop of U S Navy Flag were keenly sought after at last month’s Karaka Sales, selling up to $340,000 and averaging just over $80,0000 with 32 yearlings sold.
Ocean Vision is one of three runners to date for U S Navy Flag, with his son Kaasib beaten a neck on debut at Wolverhampton eight days ago for trainer Clive Cox.
U S Navy Flag is the third foal out of the multiple Group One-winning Galileo mare Misty For Me – a full-sister to three black type performers including Gr.1 Prix Marcel Boussac (1600m) heroine Ballydoyle – and is therefore a full-brother to multiple Group One-winning miler Roly Poly and a half-sibling to Grade 3 scorer Cover Song.
