The GAIN Railway Stakes
Group 2, Curragh 14:35
€120,000 guaranteed,
2yo only, 6f   
Saturday 19th June 2025

1 True Love 1/2F
2 Puerto Rico 13/2
3 Power Blue 4/1
4 ran Distances: 5l, ¾l, 2½l
Time: 1m 13.39s (slow by 2.69s)

On a blustery Curragh afternoon where questions outnumbered certainties, it was the lone filly in a compact quartet who answered most emphatically. True Love, already a darling of Royal Ascot, extended her winning romance with Group success — and did so with the sort of authority that leaves lasting impressions.

The air of expectation was no coincidence. Aidan O’Brien, a man as familiar with this contest as the finishing line itself, had sent out 14 previous winners — names like Rock Of Gibraltar and George Washington echoing down the decades. And yet, it was the Queen Mary heroine, not the boys, who carried Ballydoyle’s most telling hope.

Sent off the 1-2 favourite, True Love travelled like a filly who had read the script. Ryan Moore, ever the minimalist, nudged her into contention before pressing the button at the furlong pole — the response was instant. Puerto Rico, her stablemate, was left trailing in her wake, five lengths adrift at the line and never truly in the argument.

“She’s got that natural pace,” O’Brien reflected, clearly still piecing together the full scale of her talent. “We didn’t know if she’d get six [furlongs], but you find out by asking the question. She’s answered it — and some.”

There was talk, inevitably, of what comes next. The Phoenix Stakes beckons, as do French forays like the Prix Morny, with the Cheveley Park Stakes also under consideration. This, after all, was not just a win — it was a Group Two against the colts and achieved without the semblance of stress.

From beneath the brim of his hat, Coolmore’s John Magnier allowed himself a moment of reflection. “Someone told me it’s the first time in 30 years a filly has won this race,” he mused, eyes on the bigger picture. “She’s a good individual and she’s very well bred — she’s out of the Galileo family. That kind of pedigree is like a road map: anything can happen.”

As to the long-term target — whispers of the 1000 Guineas next spring have already begun. Bookmakers wasted little time trimming her odds to 16-1. Magnier, never one for hyperbole, simply smiled: “Fingers crossed. Winning the Queen Mary isn’t easy either — the old breeders always used to say that’s where the families start.”

And on today’s evidence, True Love might just be ready to start a legacy of her own.

GAIN Railway Stakes (Group 2)
€120,000 guaranteed, 2yo only, 6f
4 ran
Going: Good, Good to Yielding in places

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (4)    True Love 2 9-2 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 1/2F
2 (1) 5 Puerto Rico 2 9-5 A P O'Brien Wayne Lordan 13/2
3 (2) ¾ Power Blue 2 9-5 Adrian Murray David Egan 4/1
4 (3) 2½ Learntodiscover 2 9-5 G M Lyons Gary Carroll 11/1