Mary Slack Celebrates British Stakes Double as Celestial Orbit Shines Too

South African owner-breeder Mary Slack registered a British stakes double in the early weeks of the 2026 Flat season, with both victories produced by the same Newmarket handler and the same dam family.

Sky Safari (Zoustar) opened the account by taking the G3 Winter Derby at Lingfield for trainer James Fanshawe. The five-year-old mare, bred and owned by Slack, put in a career-best performance over a mile and two furlongs on the Lingfield all-weather to stamp herself as a Group winner. Then came Pina Sonata (Pinatubo), Sky Safari's year-younger half-sister, who took the Listed Virgin Bet Snowdrop Fillies' Stakes at Kempton Park on March 28. Ridden by Dan Muscutt and trained by Fanshawe at Pegasus Stables, the four-year-old is out of the Galileo mare Moonlight Sonata, meaning both fillies connect through the same bottom line.

Fanshawe has history with the Snowdrop, having won it with Captivator in 2012 and subsequent Group 1 winner Ribbons in 2014. He made no attempt to contain his excitement after Pina Sonata joined that company. "There will be no turning back with her now and that was a really good performance today," he said. "It will be staying in deep waters and I've had some nice fillies who have won this race before so we could follow a similar route to them. We have some dreams but I'm hesitant to go there at the moment!"

The results represent a meaningful return from one of South Africa's largest breeding operations. Wilgerbosdrift, located in the Western Cape, is home to four stallions and has anchored Slack's thoroughbred enterprise for years. Her selective British string has now delivered at two different levels of black type in a single season.

Across the Irish Sea, a striking result arrived from The Curragh on April 3. Irish racing staged its first-ever Good Friday fixture, and Joseph O'Brien made the most of the occasion. The 33-1 shot Celestial Orbit sprang a genuine surprise in the G3 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Park Express Stakes, winning by half a length from O'Brien's own stablemate Princess Child (22-1) under Joey Sheridan. Faiyum, the 5-6 market leader, ran freely before keeping on a further two lengths back in third over a soft-to-heavy mile.

The four-year-old No Nay Never filly, bred by B.V. Sangster out of Rose Bonheur (Danehill Dancer), previously ran for Ollie Sangster in Britain, where she won at Listed level in 2024 and twice finished second in graded company, including the Nell Gwyn Stakes. The switch to O'Brien's Owning stable in South Kilkenny was a straightforward ground search.

"She came over from Ollie Sangster because they were struggling to find real heavy ground for her in the UK," O'Brien said. "Ollie said that she was a very good filly, which she was on her form, but you just need to find soft ground and obviously we have plenty of that here. You can see her action, she really thrives in it."

The Group 3 prize of €60,000 may be her last competitive payday before the breeding paddocks. "I'm delighted to win a Group race with her as she's on her way to the paddocks," O'Brien added. "She'll probably be covered in the next few weeks." Her time of 1 minute 47.74 seconds, more than 11 seconds slower than standard, captured the severity of what riders faced on Irish racing's landmark Friday.