April, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Princess Zoe Kicks Off Ambitious Campaign

Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) captured the imagination of many with her meteoric rise from 64-rated German handicapper to Irish listed winner and French Group 1 scorer last season, and the Tony Mullins charge gets her 6-year-old campaign underway in Saturday's Listed Noblesse S. going 12 furlongs at Cork.

Princess Zoe was second on her first start for Mullins at Navan last June before winning five straight. She earned her first black-type victory under Joey Sheridan in Galway's mile and a half Listed Oyster S. before stepping up to 2 1/2 miles for success in ParisLongchamp's G1 Prix du Cadran. The grey rounded out her season with a fourth in the G1 Prix Royal-Oak.

Mullins made it no secret in the interim that his key goal for Princess Zoe in 2021 is the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, but he said on Friday that for now he is focusing on the first half of the year.

“The plan is to get two runs into her in April while there's a cut in the ground, and then we'll plan the rest of the season after that,” he said. “I'm keen to go back over a mile and a half with her. People have it in their heads that she's a dour stayer, but from the work I'm seeing, I think she'll be as effective or if not more over that trip. She's won over a mile and a half twice at Galway. Slow horses tend not to be able to do that.”

Princess Zoe's form was franked last weekend when Subjectivist, who she finished adrift of in the Prix Royal-Oak, emphatically won the G2 Dubai Gold Cup.

“Subjectivist was impressive in Dubai, and I thought her run behind him was equally as good as her first in my opinion,” Mullins said. “She'd had two trips to France–I thought that was very good. Hopefully she's as good this year. If she is, the world is our oyster.”

“Her work seems to be as good,” Mullins added. “She wouldn't be 100%, but we're not far off it. She's a strange filly, because she loves hard work. We gave her a break after Longchamp, but she was very unhappy, and we had to put her back in light training all winter because she was very upset. She's not like us, craving a break–she loves her work. So while she's fit, she might not just be as razor-sharp as she would be after a run or two.

As for what could come after Princess Zoe sharpens up, Mullins said, “We've half an idea of running at Royal Ascot–then after that, I can't see her running again until September. We have put her in the [G2] Yorkshire Cup, but we have a plan to go to the [G3] Vintage Crop at Navan at the end of April–if it came up firm we have the York option.

“It might mean meeting Stradivarius at York, but I can say if we can't beat him then we haven't got an Arc filly–we're thinking big.”

Returning to the immediacy of Saturday's race, Mullins said, “There are no easy races in Ireland now–they are so competitive. Having had a quick look, I thought Jessie Harrington's [Flor De La Luna] and Ger Lyons's [Yaxeni] would be the biggest dangers–but if we under-perform there would be others.”

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Triple Crown Winner Returns In Loaded Osaka Hai

A field of 13–including a half-dozen by the legendary Deep Impact (Jpn)–will face the starter for a cracking renewal of the G1 Osaka Hai (2000m) Sunday at Hanshin Racecourse, led by the late stallion's 2020 Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn).

Raced by Shinji Maeda and bred by the family's North Hills Co. Ltd., the son of Rhodochrosite (Unbridled's Song) built on an undefeated 2-year-old season with four on the bounce last term, defeating Salios (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) (2000m) in April and more soundly in the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (2400m) the following month. The hasslefree winner of the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai fresh up in September, he completed a sweep of the Triple Crown in the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger)–albeit narrowly–over a 3000-metre trip that surely stretched him and tasted defeat for the first time when a clear runner-up to Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) in November's G1 Japan Cup (2400m).

“His workload has been good and things have gone as expected with him,” assistant trainer Shigeki Miyauchi commented. “There has been nothing to worry about, and the race distance of 2,000 metres will be just right for him. I'm sure if he gets to run his true race, he'll get a good result.”

Salios, runner-up to Contrail for champion 2-year-old honours in 2019, bounced back from his Derby defeat to easily win the G2 Mainichi Okan in October and was last seen running fifth in the G1 Mile Championship at Kyoto in November.

The winner of the latter event was Gran Alegria (Jpn), a Deep Impact daughter of American multiple Grade I winner Tapitsfly (Tapit), who was adding that event to her barnstorming tally in the G1 Sprinters' S. the month prior. An easy choice for champion sprinter/miler, she stretches out to 10 furlongs for the first time and Christophe Lemaire will try to make best use of her stinging turn of foot in the final stages.

“She's an easy horse to ride, can settle well in a race, and I know what I have to do with her,” the French ex-pat said. “Even though it's her first time at 2,000 meters, I'm sure she'll put in a big run. Speed is also needed over the inner turf course.”

Lei Papale (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is perfect and untested from her five career starts and gets the litmus test Sunday. The Carrot Farm runner made her most recent appearance over this track and distance, accounting for the re-opposing Bravas (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the G3 Challenge Cup in December.

Persian Knight (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) is winless in over three years, but was runner-up in this event in 2018, is drawn well and can outrun longshot odds if he gets his preferred quick conditions underfoot.

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EBF Pledges £1.8-Million To Prizemoney In 2021

The European Breeders' Fund has pledged £1.8-million of its earnings from British-based stallions to prizemoney enhancements in 2021 between flat and National Hunt races, focused between Class 4 and listed level races. The £1.68-million pledged to flat racing covers more than 600 races, and is the EBF's joint-highest contribution equal to 2019.

In 2020, 595 flat races were run in 2020 under EBF conditions, receiving £1,430,250 of funding. British EBF financial contributions made up 22.5% of the £6,358,360 total prize money of these races, making them the second-largest sponsor in the sport. When racing was halted in the early part of 2020, the EBF re-strategised its initial allocations to release as much EBF money as possible when racing resumed. It also asked racecourses to reflect 100% of EBF money above the BHA minimum prize funds.

“2020 was a tough year for everyone but we were delighted to be able to get more than £1.5-million in to prize money, even with a truncated race programme,” said British EBF Chairman Simon Sweeting. “The relative strength of the stallion market means that we have been able to maintain our commitment to racing's prize money in 2021, when we know the effects of the last year will be felt keenly. We hope by the careful budgeting and strategy of the British EBF team, that we will be able to provide a certain amount of continuity and continue to elevate prize money wherever we can.”

British EBF Race Planning Committee Member Sam Bullard added, “We are constantly assessing our portfolio of races and how we support them; we work closely with the BHA and racecourses to identify new funding opportunities and are happy to support a much-needed new conditions race for 3-year-olds to be debuted at Goodwood's May fixture. We are also keen to back projects that provide specific developmental opportunities. A great example of this are the hugely successful British EBF Future Stayers' races. Designed to give juvenile maiden and novice opportunities for horses with middle and staying distance pedigrees, they have produced a runners to subsequent black-type winners ratio of 9%.”

The British EBF welcomes Jono Mills as a trustee for 2021. Mills replaces Sam Bullard as the Darley representative, but will remain on both the Flat and National Hunt Race Planning Committees.

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The Friday Show Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Feeling Preppy

The Kentucky Derby is less than one month away and this weekend's Big Three prep races – the G2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and G1 Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita – figure to sort out the leading contenders and help fill the Churchill Downs starting gate on May 1, as each race awards 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top four finishers.

Join Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick, news editor Chelsea Hackbarth and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills for a lively discussion on these key races and their historical significance in terms of serving as a launch pad for Kentucky Derby winners. Two of the three races – the Wood and the Santa Anita Derby – are seen as wide open, while unbeaten Essential Quality, last year's 2-year-old champion, appears to tower over the field in the Blue Grass.

The Star of the Week is recognized for his influence in American classic races and in the two most recent Derby preps at Gulfstream and Turfway Parks, and Nevills makes his latest Toast to Vino Rosso taking a look at first-crop foals sired by the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic-winning stallion standing at Spendthrift Farm.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Diamond B Farm's Rowayton.

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