Fortitudine, a full brother to the recently retired Godolphin champion Rebel's Romance, produced a stunning performance on Wednesday night, winning his debut at Kempton by 21 lengths. The three-year-old gelding, by Dubawi, defeated the 5-6 favourite Dialstone in the 1m3f novice stakes.
Impressive Debut Victory
Sent off as the 7-2 second favourite, Fortitudine was ridden by James Doyle, who sent him straight to the front from the stalls. The gelding maintained his advantage and pulled clear of his rivals in the straight, leaving the field behind.
The Racing Post analysis described the performance as a "genuine wow moment on his debut," noting that he "jumped from a wide draw at speed and kept the gallop up right to the line to pull right away from the whole field." The analysis added that "post-race comments by the rider plus his starting price suggest this sort of performance wasn't expected at all, so he rates a most exciting prospect for the Charlie Appleby stable."
Family Legacy
Rebel's Romance, who ran his last race at Newmarket last month, captured the Group 2 Princess Of Wales's Stakes, his 22nd career win. He won nine Group 1 races, including the Breeders' Cup Turf twice, the Dubai Sheema Classic, and Hong Kong's Champions & Chater Cup, finishing with career earnings of £12.2 million.
Doyle, who was aboard Rebel's Romance for his 2022 Breeders' Cup Turf triumph, said of Fortitudine: "He was quite professional. I gave him one tap, then he balanced up and away he went. He's learning on the job nicely."
Bright Future
Doyle added: "He feels like he lengthens away. He doesn't do anything too quickly, so I was keen to keep the revs up, keep him in a nice high gear and keep him galloping. The trip is right and he might even get a bit further."
He concluded: "I was a bit surprised myself when I had a little look around. It bodes well; hopefully he's in for a good career."
