Thoroughbred Daily News reports that the partnership of Peter Brant and Coolmore discovered this first-hand, following the 3-million Euro (about $3.3 million) purchase of French Group 1 winner Rougir at last year's Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale. On his own, Brant also bought the French Group 1-placed Speak of the Devil for 1.95 million Euros (about $2.2 million) at the Arqana sale.

Three days after the fall of the hammer, Rougir and Speak of the Devil's former trainer, Cedric Rossi, was among several in his family arrested in connection to a horse doping probe.

Going into the sale, Rougir was a high-level runner in Europe, having won the Group 1 Prix de l'Opera Longines and G3 Prix des Reservoirs in her native France. She had most recently traveled overseas to compete in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, where she finished seventh for owner Le Haras de La Gousserie. Having her trainer under suspicion for cheating would understandably cast doubt over the legitimacy of those performances, and in turn, the expensive purchase.

However, Brant said both of his purchases have jumped through every testing hoop. Had they not, or if the horses' records were damaged by anything pertaining to Rossi's arrest, Brant said he and the Coolmore partners had discussed contingency plans with the auction company.

“We were assured these horses were not involved in this thing,” Brant told TDN. “We had all sorts of tests taken on these horses. Samples were sent to Germany. They checked out very well. We were led to believe that these horses were not part of the investigation, that they checked out very well.”

Rougir and Speak of the Devil have been moved to the Florida-based barn of trainer Chad Brown, with short-term and long-term targets in New York turf graded stakes races.

Read more at Thoroughbred Daily News.

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That brought into question whether or not he and his partners had purchased a horse whose successes on the racetrack were, at least in part, the result of the use of performance-enhancing drugs. But Brant said Monday that he is confident that Rougir and another Rossi horse he purchased at Arqana, Speak of the Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), were not involved in the doping campaign the Rossi family is alleged to have been part of.

“We were assured these horses were not involved in this thing,” Brant said. “We had all sorts of tests taken on these horses. Samples were sent to Germany. They checked out very well. We were led to believe that these horses were not part of the investigation, that they checked out very well.”

Rougir won the G3 Prix des Reservoirs in 2020 before launching a 2021 campaign that included a win in the Oct. 3 G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines. She was most recently seventh in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The €3-million price tag was the most paid for any horse at any of the European breeding stock sales in 2021.

Speak of the Devil, who was trained by Frederic Rossi, is the winner of four listed stakes, including the final two starts of her career. Purchased solely by Brant, she went for €1,950,000.

American owners Lael Stable also bought a pricey Rossi horse at Arqana, purchasing the 2-year-old Purplepay (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), who was also trained by Cedric Rossi and who sold for €2 million.

Despite his belief that his purchases raced drug-free, Brant admitted that he was concerned after learning of the arrest of the Rossis.

“I obviously don't like the situation,” Brant said. “You don't want to buy a horse and then find out a few days later that there was a sting. That's not exactly what we were expecting.”

Brant said that he and the Coolmore team went back to Arqana officials after the news of the arrests broke to explore their options. He said a confidential agreement was reached in which Arqana made certain concessions to protect their investment.

“[Arqana] made certain guarantees to us so far as whatever credentials these horses had would remain and that if anybody took them away then that would change things,” he said. “Arqana was very responsible. They dealt with the sellers and they bridged us together and we made an agreement we all felt safe with. We were given assurances that our investment was safe.

“Did we ever say we wanted our money back? We said we wanted certain guarantees or else we would like the sales canceled. We also evaluated what our legal position was and we just decided that this was best way to go about it.”

The two Brant purchases have arrived in Florida and are stabled with Chad Brown. Brant said Rougir will likely go next in either the GIII Beaugay S. or the GII New York S. The GI Just a Game S. is a possible goal for Speak of the Devil, he said.

Charley Rossi's wife, the jockey Jessica Marcialis, was also arrested.

Cedric Rossi was also the trainer of GI QIPCO Champion S. winner Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}).

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Raced by the Chehboub family's Haras de la Gousserie in partnership with breeder Guy Pariente, Sealiway was trained by Frederic Rossi when he won last year's G1 Prix Jean Luc Lagardere and when second to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club in June. Transfered to Cedric Rossi in August, Sealiway was a good fifth in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe off a layoff before winning Ascot's Champion S. The G1 Saudi Cup has been cited as an early season target for Sealiway's 4-year-old campaign.

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The three Rossis, along with a veterinarian, a stable manager, and Charley's wife Jessica Marcialis, a jockey, were brought in after a two-month investigation into possible race-fixing and doping in their operation, based at the Calas training centre in Marseille, France.

The most famous and successful in question is Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), the winner of the G1 QIPCO Champion S. who may be pointed to the Saudi Cup next, and will go to an as-yet-to-be determined trainer in Chantilly, Kamel Chehboub told the JDG. Skazino (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), second in the G1 Prix Royal Oak, will stay in Marseille, but will be shifted to trainer Richard Chotard, the JDG reports. They quote Jean-Claude Seroul as saying his three fillies with Frederic Rossi are on their way to Jerome Reynier. Mangoustine (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) the winner of the G3 Prix Miesque for Franco-American basketball star Tony Parker, will head to Mikel Delzangles at Chantilly, the JDG reports. Miguel Castro Megias has five horses with Charley Rossi, all of which will go to Chantilly at the end of the week, also to an undetermined trainer, the paper says, while they report that Michel Delaunay, who has 10 horses with Charley Rossi, has not yet made a decision on where his horses will go.

Ten horses were seized during the raid, and the JDG asked the Aix-en-Provence court what might happen to them, and was told that their owners may request their return from the investigating judge in the case.

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The JDG reported that the indictment for this type of charge could last as long as a year while the investigation continues, and said that in total, the three had approximately 200 horses in training at their Calas training center in Marseille.

The paper ran the following statement from the prosecutor's office: “Following a tip, a preliminary investigation for equine doping and fraud committed by an organized group was handed over to the Service Central des Courses et Jeux (SCCJ) (the central service of racing and gaming), a specialized service of the judicial police in the Aix-en-Provence prosecutors office. The first investigations have allowed them to confirm the information described, including several racehorse trainers and veterinarians. On September 10, 2021, the public prosecutor's office in Aix-en-Provence opened a judicial investigation into the leaders of the group, (who were) administering to the horses substances of a nature to artificially modify their capabilities. The investigation led by the rogatory commission from the racing and gaming police have revealed numerous facts of equine doping and the manipulation of racing as part of a concerted organization. This concerns a large group of around 30 races. An operation carried out in several locations allowed the SCCJ, aided by the South Judicial Police and veterinarians from the national horse racing federation to question a dozen people. This gave rise to the seizure of 10 racehorses as well as funds from the bank accounts of the people in question. At the end of their custody, the examining magistrate in charge of the investigations had decided to refer six people. In accordance with the requirements of prosecution, they were indicted and placed under judicial review, and are forbidden from being present on racetracks and training centers and from exercising any profession related to horse racing.”

The JDG quoted “numerous sources” which reported the “no molecule” of any new or illegal doping agents had been found.

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“A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a story about two state legislators in New York looking to take all the slot money away from NYRA, and last year it was the governor of Pennsylvania,” Finley said. “Every time something like [Medina Spirit's death] happens, it makes their case stronger. And you know what? I bet you there are some politicians in California right now that are thinking, maybe it's time to introduce a bill to ban horse racing in the state. I think a lot of people don't think this will ever happen. It's not going to happen tomorrow or the next day, and it may not ever happen, but you have to be very scared of this. It is a realistic threat. Fifteen years ago, if I suggested that the circus would no longer exist, it would have been laughable to think about something like that.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, West Point Thoroughbreds, XBTV and Legacy Bloodstock, the hosts asked whether Ortiz will become a more careful rider after his suspension and the outcry that followed two incidents he was involved in over the weekend, and reacted to the news of the police arresting members of the Rossi family in France in an alleged doping and race-fixing conspiracy. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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A group of approximately 15 individuals, including veterinarians, were taken into custody from the the Marseille and Paris regions. Police have subsequently searched the Calas training center based on months' worth of surveillance and phone tapping.

Cedric Rossi trains this year's Group 1 QIPCO Champion Stakes winner Sealiway, though the horse had previously been trained by Frederic Rossi to a win in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and a fifth-place finish in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

This year, Cedric Rossi saddled Rougir to win the Group 1 Prix de l'Opera and a seventh-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. On Saturday, Rougir sold at the Arqana Breeding Stock sale for a record €3 million (about US$3.37 million) to Peter Brant, while the Cedric Rossi-trained Purplepay brought €2 million (about US$2.25 million) from Lael Stable.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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The four are reportedly among a larger group of around 15 people from the Marseille and Paris regions, including at least one vet, to have been detained by police as part of an ongoing investigation into equine doping and race fixing.

French racing and bloodstock daily Jour de Galop (JDG) has reported that a judicial investigation has been opened and quotes the deputy prosecutor at the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor's office, Olivier Poulet, as saying that a 10-month investigation led to Tuesday's arrests and police search of the training centre.

“The two offences are organised cheating (for rigged horse races) and the administration of doping substances to horses participating in races,” Poulet told the JDG. “For this type of offence, police custody can last four days. The presentation before the judge of those in police custody is scheduled for next Thursday. At this point, we cannot divulge their identity.”

JDG also reports that a number of horses and their documentation have been seized by police from all three stables. The Charley Rossi-trained Droit De Parole (Ire) (Toronado {Ire}) was withdrawn from Tuesday's Quinté at Chantilly.

The Rossi family has long been at the forefront of racing in the south of France. Frederic's father Henri Rossi was a leading jockey before becoming a trainer. Frederic and his elder brother Jacques both followed in his footsteps. Jacques, who is no longer training, is president of the Societe Hippique de Marseille, which oversees racing at the two local courses of Borely and Pont-de-Vivaux as well as the Calas training centre, which is home to 27 trainers. Jacques is the father of Cedric and Charley Rossi.

The family has gained wider prominence in world racing in recent years. In 2020, Frederic Rossi, who also has a satellite stable in Chantilly, trained his first Classic winner, the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches victrix Dream And Do (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), as well as G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}). The Arc meeting of 2020 proved a highly successful one for the family, as Charley Rossi landed the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac with Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}), handing Jessica Marcialis a memorable first Group 1 win in the saddle. Third in that same race was Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}), trained by his brother, who would go on to star on the same weekend this year when winning the G1 Prix de l'Opera. Italian-born Marcialis is the sister of former Chantilly trainer Andrea Marcialis, who in March was banned from racing until 2025 having been found guilty of a number of charges including medication violations and running a training operation under the name of another trainer.

On Saturday, Rougir topped the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale in Deauville when sold to White Birch Farm and Coolmore's MV Magnier at a record-breaking €3 million. Shortly before that, the 2-year-old Purplepay (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), also trained by Cedric Rossi, fetched €2 million and will race on in America for Lael Stable.

Dream And Do has not raced since her Classic success but was sold privately last year to Katsumi Yoshida of Japan's Northern Farm. Tiger Tanaka went through the ring at last week's Tattersalls December Mares' Sale, selling for 450,000gns.

Sealiway was switched from the stable of Frederic to Cedric Rossi this summer and went on to run fifth in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe before winning the G1 QIPCO Champion S. He remains in training and may be aimed at the Saudi Cup in February.

French racing's governing body France Galop released a statement on Tuesday afternoon which read, “France Galop is following very closely the development of the ongoing investigations made public today and has no comments to make at this stage.

“France Galop has the responsibility of ensuring the regularity of races. In this context, it cooperates closely and regularly with the racing centres and the sports division of the National Police.

“The fight against doping is an absolute priority for the racing industry, which devotes an annual budget of €10 million euros to [this cause]. Thus, the equine sector carries out nearly 30,000 anti-doping tests per year, at the races, for horses in and out of training, and in the breeding sector.”

Frederic Rossi is currently lying in fifth in the French trainers' table for 2021 with 94 winners, and Cedric Rossi is in tenth place.

None of the horses in question are known to have tested positive for any banned substance.

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A €100,000 Arqana October yearling, Purplepay broke her maiden at fourth asking and in her second try over a mile four weeks before taking the Criterium Arqana by four lengths. She was a staying on third behind the colts Angel Bleu (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Ancient Rome (War Front) in the Gran Criterium, clocking the fastest final furlong of any horse in the race.

“If she would have been able to kick on at the same time as Angel Bleu, it is sure that the victory would have been hotly contested,” said trainer Cedric Rossi. “She really proved that she was a Group 1 filly by finishing behind the first and third in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. She recovered extremely well and she is today in great shape.”

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Blue Wings, who posted a July 25 debut runner-up finish going seven furlongs at Bordeaux's La Teste de Buch venue, graduated in a Sept. 4 one-mile maiden here in her penultimate start and went postward for this black-type bow returning off a Sept. 25 second upped to this distance at Salon-de-Provence last time. Moving forward from an early slot along the rail in fourth to go third at the entrance to the backstraight, she made smooth headway off the home turn to go second along the far-side rail entering the final furlong and was ridden out in the closing stages to deny Asad Zabeel (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) by a length nearing the line for a career high, becoming the first black-type winner for her freshman sire (by Pour Moi {Ire}).

Blue Wings is the fourth of five foals and one of three winners produced by a winning granddaughter of Listed Flying Fillies' S. victrix Arabesque (GB) (Zafonic), herself the dam of six black-type performers headed by MGSW sire Showcasing (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and GSP sire Camacho (GB) (Danehill). Arabesque is a daughter of G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine Prophecy (Ire) (Warning {GB}), whose descendants also include three-time Group 1 winner Foreteller (GB) (Dansili {GB}), MGSW G2 Prix de Sandringham victrix Modern Look (GB) (Zamindar), GSW GI Beverly D. S. and GI Flower Bowl S. placegetter Grand Jete (GB) (Dansili {GB}), G3 Musidora S. winner Shutter Speed (GB) (Dansili {GB}), MGSW G1 New Zealand Derby runner-up Fix (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}) and G1 South African Derby and G1 South Africa Classic placegetter Galileo's Destiny (NZ) (Galileo {Ire}).

Monday, Marseille-Borely, France
PRIX DELAHANTE-Listed, €60,000, Marseille-Borely, 10-25, 2yo, 9fT, 1:48.20, g/s.
1–BLUE WINGS (FR), 122, f, 2, by Wings of Eagles (Fr)
1st Dam: Blue Mood (Ire), by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
2nd Dam: Cabriole (GB), by Dansili (GB)
3rd Dam: Arabesque (GB), by Zafonic
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O/B-Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois (FR); T-Cedric Rossi; J-Franck Blondel. €30,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-2-0, €47,730.
2–Asad Zabeel (GB), 126, c, 2, Dubawi (Ire)–Gharbeya, by More Than Ready. O-Shadwell France; B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd (GB); T-Jean-Claude Rouget. €12,000.
3–Zanndabad (Ire), 126, c, 2, Iffraaj (GB)–Zanoubiya (Ire), by Dalakhani (Ire). O-H H The Aga Khan; B-H H The Aga Khan's Studs SC (IRE); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €9,000.
Margins: 1, 1HF, NK. Odds: 12.00, 1.80, 1.50.
Also Ran: Crunch Time (Fr), Red Crazy (Fr), Pierre Le Grand (GB), Mohawk Warrior (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by TVG.

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