His Highness The Aga Khan’s Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal), who annexed the G2 Blandford S. on this weekend last year, defeated this semester’s Blandford victress Cayenne Pepper (Ire) (Australia {GB}) when successful in last month’s G3 Give Thanks S. at Cork. At the top of her game for Sunday’s G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille over 12 furlongs at ParisLongchamp, she displayed an impressive turn of foot to down a stellar cast in taking fashion. Settled in rear for most of this stamina test, the 28-5 chance made eyecatching headway out wide in the straight and powered clear once quickening smartly for the lead approaching the final furlong to easily account for Raabihah (Sea the Stars {Ire}) by three lengths, with that rival edging the pacesetting Dame Malliot (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) by a short head for second.
“She is a marvellous filly, the Prix Vermeille is a very, very prestigeous race and she needed to be good to win there,” said assistant trainer Mark Weld. “She has lots of speed and class and deserves a Group 1 win. She was very impressive when winning the Blandford last year, just like last month in the Group 3 [Give Thanks] at Cork. We have a lot of hopes for her and she is very straightforward. The whole family have got better with age, particularly the females. She is a pleasure to train and we are very lucky to have her. I have just spoken to my father and we will have a look at the next step. She holds an entry in the [Oct. 4 G1] Prix de l’Opera and she is comfortable over 10 furlongs, so that’s a possibility.” The Arc is not yet out of the equation as stud manager Georges Rimaud revealed, “She was in good form and Dermot [Weld] was keen to run her here in search of a first Group 1 win. She is nice, she is consistent and won well. She is not in the Arc, but today she won the supplementation [fee] so it is a possibility that she will come back on the first Sunday in October.”
The Arc also remains on the agenda for runner-up Raabihah, according to Jean-Claude Rouget. “She ran well, but now she is racing against tougher rivals,” he reflected. “She was beaten by a good, older filly and proved that she is the best 3-year-old filly in France. We will see how she is over the next two weeks, I have spaced her races and never trained her hard so I think that she can improve on that and be at her best in three weeks’ time. This defeat hasn’t altered plans and, if she is well in herself, she will run in the Arc.”
Tarnawa, a half-sister to the unraced 2-year-old colt Tazaral (Ire) Fastnet Rock (Aus) and a weanling filly by Siyouni (Fr), is the first foal bred from MSW dual G3 Curragh Cup third Tarana (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), herself the leading performer for G3 Noblesse S. third Tarakala (Ire) (Dr Fong), who in turn is the best horse produced by Listed Oyster S. second Tarakana (Shahrastani). Continuing the theme, Tarakana is the leading light out of Tarafa (Ire) (Akarad {Fr}), herself a half-sister to five black-type winners headed by G3 Princess Royal S. victress Tashtiya (Ire) (Shergar {GB}), G3 Prix Messidor victor Tassmoun (Kalamoun {GB}) and Listed Chester S. winner Tarikhana (Ire) (Mouktar {Ire}), who in turn is the dam of G1 Prix Royal-Oak hero Tiraaz (Lear Fan). Tarafa is also kin to the dam G1 Phoenix S. heroine Damson (Ire) (Entrepreneur {GB}).
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX VERMEILLE-G1, €360,000, ParisLongchamp, 9-13, 3yo/up, f/m, 12fT, 2:26.42, gd.
1–TARNAWA (IRE), 131, f, 4, by Shamardal
1st Dam: Tarana (Ire) (MSW & GSP-Ire, $141,525), by Cape Cross (Ire)
2nd Dam: Tarakala (Ire), by Dr Fong
3rd Dam: Tarakana, by Shahrastani
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-H.H. Aga Khan; B-His Highness the Aga Khan’s Studs S.C. (IRE); T-Dermot Weld; J-Christophe Soumillon. €205,704. Lifetime Record: MGSW-Ire, 12-6-2-2, €512,912. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Raabihah, 123, f, 3, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Garmoosha, by Kingmambo. O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Shadwell Farm (KY; T-Jean-Claude Rouget. €82,296.
3–Dame Malliot (GB), 131, f, 4, Champs Elysees (GB)–Stars In Your Eyes (GB), by Galileo (Ire). O-A E Oppenheimer; B-Hascombe & Valiant Studs (GB); T-Ed Vaughan. €41,148.
Margins: 3, SHD, HF. Odds: 5.60, 1.20, 14.00.
Also Ran: Laburnum (Ire), Wonderful Tonight (Fr), Even So (Ire), Mashael (Fr), Valia (Fr), Grand Glory (GB). Also Ran (DNF): Alkandora (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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