BDS-bred Divine Spirit impresses on debut for Godolphin

Divine Spirit made the perfect start to her racing career at Windsor on Monday evening when the easy winner of the 5f novice race for Charlie Appleby.

The daughter of Kingman was bred by Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar out of their Queen Mary Stakes runner-up Shyrl, a daughter of Acclamation purchased by Tony Nerses as a two-year-old.

Divine Spirit recently topped the Tattersalls Craven Sale when sold to Godolphin for 850,000gns. Sent off a short-priced favourite for Monday’s debut, she skipped clear when shaken up by James Doyle to score easily from Pink Sands.

“In the race, Divine Spirit was perfect,” James Doyle told the Racing Post. “She popped out, was a little bit ring rusty, a little bit green, but she clicked into it at halfway. But what I liked was that, when I asked her to go, (the response) wasn’t immediate. She did take time and learn on the job a bit and when she did click in, she powered away nicely. I thought that was good, as it showed there is a bit of stamina in there and she’s not an out-and-out five-furlong filly.

“She does look fairly precocious, she is not overly big. She looks fairly racy, and is ready to rock and roll now, so I should imagine Royal Ascot will be on the agenda.”