Unbeaten in four starts but absent since the Listed Prix Petite Etoile in December, Lady Of Spain (Phoenix Of Spain) was back with a bang on Saturday as she added Sandown’s G3 Atalanta Stakes to her tally. Giving generously to Ray Dawson to subdue Blue Bolt (Blue Point) close home, the Roger Varian-trained 14-1 shot asserted to score by half a length.
“Obviously she’s not run for a while, had never been on turf and was encountering soft ground, so there were a lot of questions we asked of her and in fairness she answered all of them,” Dawson said. “She’s handled conditions and the time off the track has been no problem, so she seems a proper filly.”
Roger Varian added, “The filly is very good, we’ve always thought that and she could be top-class. It was a hell of a performance today, having not run for nine months and also her first run on turf, so you couldn’t be more proud of the way she won the Atalanta.”
“We entered her in the Sun Chariot and the Prix de l’Opera and they were not off-the-cuff entries, we made them because we have a lot of belief in this filly. Time will tell if she is a Group One filly, but she is an unbeaten Group Three winner with only five starts under her belt and we have every reason to believe she will be good.”
1/111-1
Lady Of Spain retains her her unbeaten record in the G3 Atalanta Stakes@varianstable | @Raydawson101 | @BetMGMUK | @Sandownpark pic.twitter.com/EolJkJqCOx
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 30, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Lady Of Spain’s unraced dam Navette (Invincible Spirit), who is also responsible for this year’s Listed National Stakes runner-up First Legion (Mehmas), is a half to the triple Group winner and Queen Anne and Lockinge runner-up Real World (Dark Angel) and the Listed Cheshire Oaks winner and G2 May Hill Stakes runner-up Dubai Fountain (Teofilo). This is the family of the sires Librettist, Dubai Destination and Agnes World.
Saturday, Sandown, Britain
BETMGM ATALANTA STAKES-G3, £85,000, Sandown, 8-30, 3yo/up, f, 8fT, 1:44.08, sf.
1–LADY OF SPAIN (IRE), 132, f, 4, by Phoenix Of Spain (Ire)
1st Dam: Navette (Ire), by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
2nd Dam: Nafura (GB), by Dubawi (Ire)
3rd Dam: Mysterial, by Alleged
1ST GROUP WIN. (16,000gns Wlg ’21 TADEWE; 40,000gns Ylg ’22 TATOCT). O-L Boros, R Marchant, S Marchant & Partner; B-Littlejohn Bloodstock Ltd; T-Roger Varian; J-Ray Dawson. £48,204. Lifetime Record: SW-Fr, 5-5-0-0, $113,476. *1/2 to First Legion (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), SP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Blue Bolt (Ire), 126, f, 3, Blue Point (Ire)–Mayhem (Ire), by Whipper. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€400,000 Ylg ’23 ARAUG). O-Juddmonte; B-C-Squared Investments; T-Andrew Balding. £18,275.
3–Skellet (Ire), 132, f, 4, Kingman (GB)–Dane Street, by Street Cry (Ire). TDN Rising Star. O-Juddmonte; B-Airlie Stud & Mrs S Rogers; T-Ralph Beckett. £9,146.
Margins: HF, 4, 1 1/4. Odds: 14.00, 3.50, 18.00.
Also Ran: Cajole (GB), Bright Thunder (Ire), Spiritual (Ire), American Gal (GB), Alobayyah (GB), Hey Boo (GB), Fair Point (GB), Flight (GB), Molten Rock (Ire), Betty Clover (GB). Scratched: Cathedral (GB).