Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes
Fillies Group 1, Curragh 15:30
Winner: €300,000 guaranteed
1m 2f   
Saturday 28th June 2025

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1 Whirl 13/8
2 Kalpana 5/6F
3 Survie 18/1
7 ran Distances: 1¼l, 1¾l, nk
Time: 2m 4.95s (fast by 0.25s)

Whirl claimed her Curragh coronation and exacted Epsom revenge in a pulsating renewal, outduelling a gallant Kalpana in a race that lived up to its billing—and then some.

On paper it was a clash of titans: Andrew Balding’s rock-solid Group One filly Kalpana, a slender Oaks runner-up and the punters' pick at 5-6, up against Aidan O’Brien’s gritty battler Whirl, sent off the 13-8 second favourite and looking to prove her Epsom second was no flash in the pan.

And from the moment the gates opened, it was game on. Ryan Moore, ever the cool hand on the big days, got Whirl quickly into rhythm and onto the front end. Colin Keane tracked his every move on Kalpana, shadowing the leader with the quiet confidence of a man holding aces.

Turning for home, Keane must have thought the hand was his. Kalpana was tanking, Whirl was being asked, and the Pretty Polly looked destined to remain in Juddmonte hands for a second successive year after Bluestocking’s success in 2024.

But this was Whirl, and Whirl doesn’t do surrender.

In a finish that crackled with tension and thundered with heart, the Wootton Bassett filly summoned a second wind inside the final furlong. Locked together, stride for stride, two top-class fillies, two ice-cold jockeys—neither willing to blink. And then, just when it mattered most, Whirl edged ahead with the kind of resolve that makes Group One winners and fan favourites.

A length and a quarter was the official verdict, but the margin told only half the story.

“She’s incredible—absolutely concrete,” said a beaming O’Brien post-race. “She just keeps coming. Epsom showed she stays, York showed she’s sharp enough. But today showed her heart.”

Moore, recording his third victory in the Pretty Polly, earned the highest praise from his trainer. “Ryan got the fractions spot on. It’s not easy bringing a mile-and-a-half filly back to ten furlongs—but he didn’t turn it into a sprint, and he didn’t panic when Kalpana loomed. That takes nerve.”

And it wasn’t just nerve. It was judgement. Racecraft. Experience. That intangible Moore magic.

“It was a proper Curragh tussle,” O’Brien added. “The kind you don’t forget. Two quality fillies, two world-class riders, nothing left behind. That’s what the game is all about.”

As for what comes next, Whirl now finds herself with a golden ticket to the rest of the season. The Nassau at Goodwood? A return to the Curragh for the Irish Oaks? Or perhaps a rematch with stablemate Minnie Hauk?

“She’s versatile, she’s tough, and she’s not even blowing,” O’Brien grinned. “We’ve options. And that’s a lovely place to be.”

Wherever she goes, one thing’s certain—Whirl won’t go down without a fight.

FormRatings

Pretty Polly Stakes (Fillies' Group 1)
Winner: €300,000, 3yo plus, 1m 2f, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Good

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (7)    Whirl 3 9-0 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 13/8
2 (6) 1¼ Kalpana 4 9-12 Andrew Balding Colin Keane 5/6F
3 (2) 1¾ Survie 4 9-12 N Clement & F Hermans Stephane Pasquier 18/1
4 (1) nk Wemightakedlongway 3 9-0 Joseph O'Brien Dylan Browne McMonagle 18/1
5 (5) 4¼ Jancis 4 9-12 W McCreery Ben Coen 33/1
6 (3) 2 Higher Leaves 4 9-12 Henry De Bromhead Shane Foley 66/1
7 (4) 2 Magical Hope 4 9-12 P Twomey W J Lee 20/1