Mendelssohn Colt Earns Royal Ascot Spot

It was a big debut victory for Mendelssohn’s Sandal’s Song (2c Mendelssohn x Sandal, by Munnings) on Saturday when the colt won the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes to kick off his career and earn a guaranteed entry in Royal Ascot’s juvenile races.

The George Weaver trainee got things started going five furlongs on the turf when he broke from the inside gate. He wasn’t able to take advantage of that when breaking a step slow, but was quickly hustled to midpack before settling behind the leaders.

Around the turn, he angled outside of the front two and confronted them at the top of the stretch. One of the horses tried to stick with him, but couldn’t keep his head in front with Sandal’s Song pulling away to win by 1 ½ lengths at the line with the third placed runner 5 ½ lengths behind the runner up.

Sandal’s Song races for Dew Sweepers, who purchased him from the Highgate Sale consignment at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale last year. He was bred by Hunter Valley and Tony Hegarty, who originally sold him as a weanling in 2023.

This is the second runner for Munnings’ Sandal, whose first is a winner as well. The mare I a three-quarter sister to both multiple Grade II winner Qurbaan and Grade III winner Qareb out of the takes winner and Grade I-placed Flip Flop.

Mendelssohn leads all fourth crop sires in 2025 by umber of stakes performers with 13 and winners with 70, both numbers well ahead of the sires behind him.