Tom Pedulla presents five key takeaways from major races at Belmont at the Big A and Churchill Downs on Saturday as some of the nation’s top horses prepared for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Nov. 4 and 5 at Keeneland.
Month: October 2022
Cotai Glory’s The Platinum Queen Wins The Abbaye
There had been no 5-year-old mare to win the Arc until just after 4 o'clock on Sunday and no juvenile to prevail in the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines since 1978, but both droughts are now officially at an end after Middleham Park Racing's The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) made it happen in the ParisLongchamp sprint.
Atoning for a heartbreaking defeat on her beloved Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the preceding G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines, Hollie Doyle made full use of Richard Fahey's dynamo's relentless pace to shake off all pressure and hold White Lavender (Ire) (Heeraat {Ire}) by a short neck, with Coeur De Pierre (Fr) (Zanzibari) a neck behind in third.
“It was never in doubt really–I thought it was a pretty dominant performance and Hollie said she idled a little bit in the last 100 yards,” Middleham Park Racing's Tom Palin said of the 7-5 favourite. “It was a 'Win and You're In' for the Breeders' Cup and being a tight northerner, that's great as it means we don't need to pay the entry fee! As long as the filly comes out of it alright, then I think we'll look forward to going to America if they'll have us.”
The Platinum Queen's journey to Paris was not an easy one, with three successes in rapid times involving a juvenile course record-setting win at Goodwood July 27 before meeting Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) in the G1 Nunthorpe S. at York Aug. 19. Second only to that huge talent, the bay stretched Trillium (GB) (No Nay Never) to the limit next time in the Sept. 11 G2 Flying Childers S. at Doncaster, losing out close home and while that peer flattened out next time in the Cheveley Park, The Platinum Queen emerged from that battle stronger.
Shadowing Mo Celita (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) throughout the first 1 1/2 furlongs before her natural speed saw her move on from that compatriot, she was there to be shot at as she has been throughout most of her brief career and as White Lavender loomed late, a gallant surrender would have been excusable. Despite lugging towards the rail as the line neared, the 2-year-old refused to buckle and was extending again yards after the finish.
Clifford Lee said of White Lavender, “We were a bit unlucky, because we were giving away so much weight to the winner. My horse was very brave to have run such a race because we went extremely fast.”
Coeur de Pierre's trainer Mauricio Delcher Sanchez added, “There is nothing else he could have done and he had an excellent trip through the race. We have finished third and we are happy, his year is finished now. He will go off for a break to Haras de Grandcamp, where he was born. We will hopefully have him back in April to prepare for a new season.”
Pedigree Notes
The Platinum Queen, who becomes the first Group 1 winner for her second-crop sire, is the first runner for the dam Thrilled (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who is kin to the listed-placed The Gold Cheongsam (Ire) (Red Clubs {Ire}). The second dam is the listed-placed Fuerta Ventura (Ire) (Desert Sun {GB}), who is in turn a half to the Listed Ripon Champion Two-Year-Old Trophy winner and G2 Mill Reef S. runner-up Sir Xaar (Ire) (Xaar {GB}). From the family of the dual G1 Irish St Leger hero Oscar Schindler (Ire) (Royal Academy), Thrilled's yearling colt by Galileo Gold (GB) was a £170,000 purchase by Richard Spencer for Phil Cunningham at last month's Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale, while she also has a colt foal by the same sire.
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
PRIX DE L'ABBAYE DE LONGCHAMP LONGINES-G1, €350,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-2, 2yo/up, 5fT, :58.65, vsf.
1–THE PLATINUM QUEEN (IRE), 116, f, 2, by Cotai Glory (GB)
1st Dam: Thrilled (Ire), by Kodiac (GB)
2nd Dam: Fuerta Ventura (Ire), by Desert Sun (GB)
3rd Dam: Cradle Brief (Ire), by Brief Truce
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (57,000gns 2yo '22 TATBRG). O-Middleham Park Racing XV; B-Tally-Ho Stud (IRE); T-Richard Fahey; J-Hollie Doyle. €199,990. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Eng, 7-4-2-0, €411,679. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–White Lavender (Ire), 133, f, 4, Heeraat (Ire)–Goodnight And Joy (Ire), by Rip Van Winkle (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Mrs Barbara M Keller; B-Paul McCartan (IRE); T-Karl Burke. €80,010.
3–Coeur De Pierre (Fr), 137, g, 6, Zanzibari–Twilight Tear (GB), by Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€47,000 Ylg '17 OSASEP). O-Ecurie Pandora Racing & Ahmed Mouknass; B-Haras de Grandcamp EARL (FR); T-Mauricio Delcher Sanchez. €40,005.
Margins: SNK, NK, 1 3/4. Odds: 1.40, 30.00, 6.00.
Also Ran: Mo Celita (Ire), Moss Tucker (Ire), New York City (Ire), Ponntos (Ire), Mitbaahy (Ire), Raasel (GB), Flotus (Ire), Teresa Mendoza (Ire), Caturra (Ire), Miramar (GB), A Case Of You (Ire), Mooneista (Ire), Agiato (GB), Berneuil (Ire), Tees Spirit (GB). Scratched: Castle Star (Ire). Video, sponsored by TVG.
Hollie Doyle is at it again – winning the Prix de l'Abbaye on 2yo The Platinum Queen for @MprUpdates & @RichardFahey. pic.twitter.com/BOxgVltvuE
— TDN (@theTDN) October 2, 2022
The post Cotai Glory’s The Platinum Queen Wins The Abbaye appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
No Cause For Alarm As Gendarme Wins The Sprinters S.
Koji Maeda's Gendarme (Kitten's Joy) earned a new career high with a neck victory in Nakayama's 1200-metre G1 Sprinters S. on Sunday. The 7-year-old entire captured the race 20 years after his dam, Believe (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), who has thrown a trio of stakes winners including Gendarme.
Sent off at 19-1, the eighth choice in the field of 16, the dark bay argued the early pace, but drifted back to stalk from third on the backstretch as T M Spada (Jpn) (Red Spada {Jpn}) set a harried tempo under pressure from First Force (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Rolling up in between that pair on the corner, Gendarme cruised into contention and took up the baton shortly before the 200-metre mark. Quickly opening up two lengths, he kept finding as Win Marvel (Jpn) (I'll Have Another) and Naran Huleg (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}) unleashed furious late rallies, but it was too little too late. Only three-quarters of a length separated the latter duo for second, and third, respectively.
“We had a good gate and were able to race smoothly as he handled the break smoothly, which was a challenge for him,” said Kiwamu Ogino, who was winning his first Group 1 race and second group race in his career. “The horse responded well in the stretch and I think he was able to show his strength. I was aware of the closing horses behind us but I just concentrated on letting the horse do his best. I'm really happy that I was able to win my first Group 1 title and I'm grateful for Gendarme.”
A winner at Group 2 level and second in the G1 Hopeful S. as a juvenile, Gendarme won the G3 Ocean S. three starts back over course-and-distance in March. Unplaced to Naran Huleg in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen later that month, he was 17th in the G3 Kitakyushu Kinen at Kokura on Aug. 21.
Pedigree Notes
Gendarme becomes the 16th Group 1 winner for his late sire Kitten's Joy with Sunday's victory. He is also the seventh and final foal, seventh runner, and sixth winner for the 2003 Japanese Champion Older Mare Believe. A winner of the 2002 edition of the Sprinter S. when it was run under listed conditions, she was also Group 2-placed and earned north of $3.8 million. Her first foal, the 2005 Kingmambo horse Faridat, was a dual listed winner in Japan, and he would ultimately place five times at group level, including a third in the G1 Yasuda Kinen. Believe hit black-type pay dirt once again with her fifth foal, the 2012 Medaglia d'Oro filly Fiducia, who won the Listed Shunrai S. and was second in the G3 Ibis Summer Dash.
From the family of 1986 U.S. Horse of the Year Lady's Secret (Secretariat), Gendarme is not the only descendant of third dam and multiple stakes winner Great Lady M. (Icecapade) to thrive in the Land of the Rising Sun, with no less than eight others earning a black-type win. Anchoring that octet is Japanese Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Circle Of Life (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), who won the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. American champion Shamrock Rose (First Dude), a winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, is also related to Gendarme.
Sunday, Nakayama, Japan
SPRINTERS S.-G1, ¥328,800,000, Nakayama, 10-2, 3yo/up, 1200mT, 1:07.80, fm.
1–GENDARME, 126, h, 7, by Kitten's Joy
1st Dam: Believe (Jpn) (Ch. Older Mare-Jpn, MSW &
GSP-Jpn, $3,836,758), by Sunday Silence
2nd Dam: Great Christine, by Danzig
3rd Dam: Great Lady M., by Icecapade
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Koji Maeda; B-North Hills Co. Limited
(KY); T-Yasutoshi Ikee; J-Kiwamu Ogino. ¥173,360,000.
Lifetime Record: 29-7-1-3. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Win Marvel (Jpn), 121, c, 3, I'll Have Another–Cosmo
Marvelous (Jpn), by Fuji Kiseki (Jpn). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK
TYPE. O-Win Inc.; B-Cosmo View Farm (Jpn); ¥68,960,000.
3–Naran Huleg (Jpn), 126, h, 6, Gold Allure (Jpn)–Kelley's
Beauty (Jpn), by Brian's Time. O-Katsushige Muraki; B-Setsuko
Sakato (Jpn); ¥43,480,000.
Margins: NK, 3/4, NK. Odds: 19.30, 19.00, 17.60.
Also Ran: Diatonic (Jpn), Namura Clair (Jpn), Eighteen Girl (Jpn), Travesura (Jpn), Maria's Heart, Schnell Meister (Ger), First Force (Jpn), Vento Voce (Jpn), Meisho Mimosa (Jpn), Taisei Vision (Jpn), Mikki Yell (Jpn), T M Spada (Jpn), Loving Answer (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video.
G1 1200m Sprinters Stakes won by 7h 2. GENDARME
(Kitten's Joy x Believe (Sunday Silence)) under Kiwamu Ogino in 1.07.8
GENDARME's first G1 win, prev G2, G3 + 3x Listed winner
2nd 3c 7. WIN MARVEL
3rd 6h 6. NARAN HULEG#JRApic.twitter.com/RWo2Ag70WD— Graham Pavey (@LongBallToNoOne) October 2, 2022
The post No Cause For Alarm As Gendarme Wins The Sprinters S. appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Lope De Vega’s Place Du Carrousel Swoops For Opera Triumph
Al Shaqab Racing's Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}–Traffic Jam {Ire}, by Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), off the track since failing to land a blow in Chantilly's June 19 G1 Prix de Diane, exacted revenge on that Classic's winner, 'TDN Rising Star' Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), with a late rush to secure a career high in the flickering embers of Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines at ParisLongchamp.
The €260,000 Arqana August graduate had earlier annexed Saint-Cloud's Apr. 29 G3 Prix Cleopatre before taking second behind another 'TDN Rising Star', Above The Curve (American Pharoah), when contesting the May 29 G1 Prix Saint-Alary over this 10-furlong course and distance in her penultimate start. With this effort, she has punched her ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland in November.
Shuffled back through the pack to race towards the rear after a sharp getaway, the 41-1 outsider responded to pressure from the turn into the straight to go fifth entering the final furlong and pounced inside the final 50 yards to deny Nashwa and Above The Curve by 3/4-of-a-length and a short head.
It was most certainly a case of right time, right place for Place Du Carrousel and breeder Ballylinch Stud, whose yearling half-sister by Kingman (GB) is due under the hammer as lot 261 on day two of Tattersalls' upcoming October Book 1 sale.
“Andre Fabre has done a magnificent job with the filly,” said Al Shaqab's racing manager Rupert Pritchard-Gordon. “He told me that she needed a break after the Prix de Diane as the filly had a hard race that day. He was worried because she hadn't had a prep race beforehand and that's why we went to Compiegne for a public gallop, which did her good. She's a tough filly, she got some good cover during the race and displayed neat powers of acceleration. To see these colours win on Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe day is very important.”
“We had a good race,” continued Mickael Barzalona. “They went off fast from the gates, but I managed to hold a good position on my filly. She did backpedal a bit during the race, but that enabled her to get a breather. She didn't expend any unnecessary energy in this ground and came with a steady run. Once she swung around [eventual fifth] Rumi, she finished with great gusto.”
The ground was a compromising factor for G1 Prix de Diane heroine Nashwa, who made a bold effort from the front only to be collared by the winner in the final metres. “She ran very well and, given her draw, it was not an easy task,” said John Gosden. “She had to make her effort quite early on and, furthermore, the very soft ground did not help her. We have no idea where she will go next. It's hard to get beaten, but she ran a good race.”
Above The Curve's trainer Joseph O'Brien reflected, “Above The Curve ran a good race on this ground. I'm proud of her as she was keeping very good company.”
Pedigree Notes
Place Du Carrousel, who becomes the 17th Group 1 winner for her sire (by Shamardal), is the first of four foals out of G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris victrix Traffic Jam (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), herself the leading performer produced by a multiple-winning sibling of stakes-winning G1 Racing Post Trophy second Winged Cupid (Ire) (In the Wings {GB}). Descendants of her fourth dam Hiwaayati (GB) (Shadeed), herself a half-sister to G2 Prix Maurice de Gheest victor Lead On Time (Nureyev) and Group winning G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and G1 July Cup runner-up Great Commotion (Nureyev), include G1 Coronation S. victrix Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and this year's G1 Oaks heroine Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Traffic Jam has the hitherto unraced 2-year-old filly Nariman Point (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the aforementioned yearling filly by Kingman (GB) and a weanling filly by Sea The Stars {Ire}) to come.
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
PRIX DE L'OPERA LONGINES-G1, €500,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-2, 3yo/up, f/m, 10fT, 2:12.64, vsf.
1–PLACE DU CARROUSEL (IRE), 123, f, 3, by Lope De Vega (Ire)
1st Dam: Traffic Jam (Ire) (GSW-Fr, $211,247), by Duke Of Marmalade (Ire)
2nd Dam: Place De l'Etoile (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Sweet Emotion (Ire), by Bering (GB)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (€260,000 Ylg '20 ARQSEP). O-Al Shaqab Racing & Ballylinch Stud; B-Ballylinch Stud, Alexis Adamian & Mme Fan Adamian (IRE); T-Andre Fabre; J-Mickael Barzalona. €285,700. Lifetime Record: 6-3-2-0, €401,750. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Nashwa (GB), 123, f, 3, Frankel (GB)–Princess Loulou (Ire), by Pivotal (GB). O-Imad Al Sagar; B-Blue Diamond Stud Farm (UK) Ltd (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden. €114,300.
3–Above The Curve, 123, f, 3, American Pharoah–Fabulous (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (KY); T-Joseph O'Brien. €57,150.
Margins: 3/4, SHD, 1. Odds: 41.00, 1.50, 3.80.
Also Ran: My Astra (Ire), Rumi (Fr), Tuesday (Ire), Mqse De Sevigne (Ire), Trevaunance (Ire), Jupyra (Fr), Fall In Love (Ire), Insinuendo (Ire), Agave (GB), Rosacea (Ire), La Parisienne (Fr), Zefania (Fr), Ebaiyra. Video, sponsored by TVG.
Never rule out Monsieur Fabre!
It's an Arc day double for the master trainer and @mickaelbarzalon as Place Du Carrousel wins the Prix de l'Opera and @BreedersCup #wayi entry!
— World Horse Racing (@WHR) October 2, 2022
The post Lope De Vega’s Place Du Carrousel Swoops For Opera Triumph appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
