Europe | Horse Racing Free Tips

What’s In a Name: Plainchant (Fr)

Friday, Chantilly, France
PRIX ECLIPSE-G3, €56,000, Chantilly, 9-18, 2yo, 6fT, 1:08.48, g/s 1–PLAINCHANT (FR), 121, f, 2, by Gregorian (Ire)
                1st Dam: Nadinska (GB), by Doyen (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Funny Girl (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
                3rd Dam: Just For Fun (Fr), by Lead On Time
1ST GROUP WIN. (€3,000 RNA Wlg ’18 ARDEC; €5,000 Ylg ’19
AROCT). O-Alain Jathiere, Maurizio Guarnieri & Sauro-Andrea
Fiordelli; B-EARL Elevage des Loges (FR); T-Maurizio Guarnieri;
J-Valentin Seguy. i28,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-1, €77,900.

The very fast and now Group 3 winner 2-year-old filly Plainchant (Fr) (Gregorian {Ire}-Nadinska {GB}, by Doyen {Ire}) has a learned name straight out of the Early Middle Ages. “Plainchant is a form of medieval church music that involves chanting or words that are sung, without any instrumental accompaniment”, according to Wikipedia, and a Gregorian chant is its more popular and famous variation, often credited by legend to Pope Gregory I (590-604). The stallion Gregorian is by Clodovil (Ire), whose name may be an alteration or a reference to the name of Clovis, the first king of the Franks (died 511) and founder of the Merovingian dynasty (later maligned as les rois fainéants). This talented young filly is trained by Maurizio Guarnieri, a member of the up and coming group of Italian trainers in France–a migration phenomenon that, in general terms, is both new and old: some Latin cousins from beyond the Alps have historically done well in France. Napoleone Buonaparte, Amedeo Modigliani and Yves Montand come to mind.

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TDN Q and A With Eddie Linehan

With the yearling sales now in full swing, TDN quizzes industry figures on past purchases, life during lockdown and their perspective on the sales over the next few weeks. Today, Eddie Linehan answers our questions.

TDN: What was your best yearling purchase over the last few years? And your favourite?

EL: [G1 Matron S. winner] Champers Elysees (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}) was the best I’ve ever signed for. She was late on the third day of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale and was a standout yearling that day. Johnny Murtagh had loved her and was gone home by the time she was in the ring so I bid on her.

My favourite yearling was a Piccolo (GB) filly called Nantany (GB). She was an 800gns purchase in my first year buying breezers. She went on to win a listed race in Germany and was stakes placed a few times.

TDN: Are there any positives you have taken from how the sales have been conducted this year?

EL: Sales have been much the same really bar the masks and keeping your distance from people. All concerned are working hard and it seems to be working well.

TDN: How has your business adapted?

EL: I haven’t had to adapt too much so far bar trying to be as selective as possible. I have been busy buying my own breeze-up horses and a few yearlings for Johnny Murtagh.

TDN: In general what are your thoughts on the 2020 yearling catalogues? And what new stallions’ progeny are you most looking forward to?

EL: All the catalogues so far have been good. I was very impressed with the Tattersalls Ascot sale recently. On paper the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale looks strong so I’m really looking forward to that.

I’ve been very impressed with the Ribchesters (Ire) I have seen so far. There have been some nice horses by Profitable (Ire) and Cotai Glory (GB) too.

TDN: Did you develop any new interests or hobbies during lockdown?

EL: No new hobbies during lockdown bar eating a lot more as my sister Kate and fiancee Ellen were off work and it was like a bake off every day. I had plenty of help mucking out though so I wasn’t complaining.

TDN: Who’s the most interesting person you know?

EL: The most interesting person I know is Eugene O’ Sullivan. He’s a remarkable man.

TDN: What’s one mistake (if any) you have made in your career, and what did you learn from it?

EL: I’ve made lots of mistakes but last year I said I wasn’t going to buy anything unless I really loved it. I bought two in particular that I only half-liked as the money was ok and neither worked out great.

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Pat Smullen Laid To Rest

In St Peter’s Church, which was bedecked with flowers from the garden at Moyglare Stud, Pat Smullen was laid to rest on Friday near his home in Rhode.

The family service, restricted in numbers because of Covid-19 protocols, was streamed via Zoom and was joined by 700 mourners from around the world, including many of the multiple champion jockey’s friends from the weighing-room.

Paying tribute to her husband during the service, Frances Crowley referred to the fact that his death came exactly a year after the Pat Smullen Champions Race, which helped to raise more than €2.5 million for Cancer Trials Ireland during Irish Champions Weekend.

“I think that symbolises exactly what it meant to him,” she said.

Smullen, 43, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2018 and died in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin on Tuesday evening. As he was brought home to Co Offaly on Wednesday, the hearse passed by the Curragh, where the flags flew at half-mast at the racecourse which had been the scene of some his greatest triumphs, including two Irish Derby victories aboard Harzand (Ire) and Grey Swallow (Ire). Harzand’s saddle cloths from the Derby and Irish Derby were draped across his coffin.

In her composed address, which acknowledged the loss felt by her husband’s legion of family and friends, Crowley offered encouragement to others facing a similar struggle with illness.

She said, “I have a message to you from Pat: keep going, don’t lose heart, please don’t let this knock you back.”

Crowley’s moving tribute ended with her own message to her husband, “We know you did your best in everything you did, Pat. You always did your best. Always.”

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Welsh Covid Spike Not From Doncaster Pilot According to Track

A COVID-19 spike in Wales’s Rhondda Cynon Taf was not the result of last Wednesday’s Doncaster pilot event where 2,500 spectators were allowed to attend, Doncaster has said, refuting the Welsh government’s accusation. Wales’s Health Minister Vaughan Gething indicated that a rugby club outing that made several stops–including the racecourse–caused the lockdown in Wales.

“Our contact tracing teams have been able to trace about half of these cases back to a series of clusters within the borough,” said Gething. “The rest are evidence of community transmission. There are a number of clusters within Rhondda Cynon Taf, two of which are significant. One is associated with a rugby club and a pub in the lower Rhondda. And the other with a club outing to the Doncaster races, which stopped off at a series of pubs on the way.”

“As a condition of running the pilot event last week, we were required to implement a full track and trace database that took the details of all attendees that would be on site, linked to an e-ticket and photo ID system on entry that would verify attendance,” Doncaster said in a statement. “Doncaster Racecourse has received no contact from any organisation, including the NHS or the Welsh Government, to verify the attendance of any individuals at last week’s event for the purposes of track and trace. In addition, we do not have any ticket bookings for any groups from the South Wales area for Wednesday’s event. We will be contacting the Welsh Health Minister as a matter of urgency to clarify the situation.”

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