Earthlight (horse)

Earthlight was ridden in all of his races as a two-year-old by Mickael Barzalona. On his racecourse debut the colt was made the 1.1/1 favourite for a maiden race over 1100 metres at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse on 19 June and won by a neck from Dutch Chop with a gap of four and a half lengths back to the other eight runners.[5] Two weeks later at Deauville Racecourse he started odds-on favourite for the five-runner Prix de Caen over 1200 metres. After settling in third place he went to the front 200 metres from the finish and drew away in the closing stages to win in "comfortable" style by three and a half lengths.[6] On 28 July, over the same course and distance, Earthlight was stepped up in class for the Group 3 Prix de Cabourg and started 1.3/1 favourite against four opponents. He raced in fourth place before moving up to take the lead 200 metres out and won "readily" by four lengths from Well of Wisdom.[7]

On 18 August at Deauville Earthlight started 2.4/1 second choice in the betting behind the filly Raffle Prize (winner of the Queen Mary Stakes and the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes) in the Group 1 Prix Morny. The other six runners included A'Ali (Norfolk Stakes, Prix Robert Papin), Arizona (Coventry Stakes), and Golden Horde (Richmond Stakes). After racing in mid-division as Raffle Prize set the pace, Earthlight moved up to challenge the favourite, gained the advantage in the last 200 metres and won by a neck.[8] After the race Andre Fabre said that the colt would stay further and would probably be aimed at the 2000 Guineas.[9]

On 28 September, Earthlight was sent to England to contest the Miiddle Park Stakes over six furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse and started the 11/4 favourite. His eight opponents included Mums Tipple (an eleven-length winner of his last race), Siskin (Phoenix Stakes), Threat (Champagne Stakes), Monarch of Egypt (runner-up in the Phoenix Stakes), Lope Y Fernandez (Round Tower Stakes) and Golden Horde. Siskin was withdrawn from the race after becoming unruly in the starting stalls. Earthlight started quickly but then settled in mid-division before making a sustained run in the last quarter mile. He got the better of Golden Horde inside the final furlong and won by a neck with third and fourth places going to the outsiders Summer Sands and King Neptune.[10]

In the official rating of European two-year-olds for 2019 Earthlight was rated the second-best juvenile of the year, level with Kameko but ten pounds inferior to Pinatubo.[11]

Earthlight was expected to begin his second campaign in the Prix de Fontainebleau at Longchamp on 11 May, the day on which racing resumed in France after the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown. On 6 May however it was announced that the colt would miss the race after sustaining a sprained fetlock in training.[12]