Racing: Musical impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber hit the right note on a sultry afternoon at the Curragh as Dar Re Mi, owned by his wife Madeleine, claimed a deserved top-flight success in the Audi Pretty Polly Stakes.
The filly had the unfortunate experience to bump into an in-form Lush Lashes and the unbeatable Zarkava last summer, and also came off second best on her seasonal bow in a tight photo-finish at York last month.
However John Gosden’s representative showed granite will to win in Ireland to survive a stewards’ inquiry and land a first Group One prize.
Jimmy Fortune found himself in front of the seven-runner field at an early stage, and his mount turned up the heat down the home straight.
Last year’s Oaks winner Look Here came under pressure early on before staying on again for third, leaving 25-1 outsider Beach Bunny to push Dar Re Mi (9-2) to the line.
The pair came together in the closing stages, but the stewards left the placings unchanged, with the duo separated by just a short head.
Look Here, the 11-8 favourite, was a length adrift, with Lush Lashes fourth and John Oxx’s Katiyra fifth.
The Lloyd Webbers visited the Breeders’ Cup in 2001 with their only other Group One winner, Crystal Music, who finished down the field in the Filly and Mare Turf.
And a return to the United States could be on the agenda after Dar Re Mi earned automatic qualification for Santa Anita in November.
Fortune said: “We got control of the race early on but I would have been happy to drop in, and there was no concern about the ground as she has won on similar before.
“She stays well and a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half is fine for her.”
The Seb Sanders-ridden Look Here failed to build on her stellar comeback in the Coronation Cup, and trainer Ralph Beckett was inclined to blame the rain-softened conditions.
He said: “Seb said that she took a while to get going on the ground. She did win her maiden on that ground but she couldn’t pick up on it as well as the first two.
“She was coming home well, as we know she can, and was only beaten a length.”