Tag: Facteur Cheval

Facteur Cheval Upends Dubai Turf, Lord North Off the Board

After knocking on the door so many times–finishing second or third in four Group 1 events in his four most recent starts–Team Valor and Gary Barber's Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}–Jawlaat {Ire}, by Shamardal) got one of his own in an ultra-competitive renewal of the $5-million G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan Racecourse on Saturday. Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), winner of the Dubai Turf the last three years and seeking an historic four-peat, broke a bit awkwardly, but despite recovering quickly, finished off the board. The U.S. hope Catnip (Kitten's Joy) went wrong in late stretch, with rider Christophe Lemaire thrown hard to the ground and removed from his final mounts on the card after being taken to hospital. While he reportedly suffered a broken collar bone and rib, Catnip's injuries necessitated euthanization shortly after the race.

Under Maxime Guyon, who won this race in 2015 with Solow (Singspiel {Ire}), Facteur Cheval bided his time far back, midfield but in the clear, as Feb. 25 G2 Nakayama Kinen winner Matenro Sky (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) went to the early lead with three-time Group 1 heroine Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) a close second. The field was cluttered up early with Japanese hope and multiple Group 1 scorer Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) unlucky and in receipt of a rough trip.

Facteur Cheval tipped out into the lane, hooking up with diminutive Japanese Group 1 heroine Namur (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}), who commenced an even-wider run from even further back than the eventual winner. The two finished so close a photo was required to determine the gold medallist, who got there by a short head. Danon Beluga (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), runner-up in this event last year, finished third. The final time for the 1800 metres was 1:45.91.

“It's just amazing, I have no words,” said trainer Jerome Reynier, a graduate of the Godolphin Flying Start program. “I see a horse here that has been prepared the best way possible by [work rider] Gregory [Davignon] and it's just amazing, I can't believe it.

“I said to Maxime I've never seen this horse go backwards at the finish, he is always going forward and giving his best. I had no doubts about the distance and Maxime has given him a perfect ride; he had Lord North to follow and he switched off during the race.

“He switched him to the outside and then waited long enough to save something for the end and that's just amazing. I am so happy for all my team.”

Reynier also said Facteur Cheval would likely stay in Dubai, where he has reportedly thrived, and would possibly train up to the Apr. 28 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin in Hong Hong.

The Dubai Turf winner won the first four starts of his career in France in 2022 before finishing that year with his first group score in the G3 Prix Perth at Saint-Cloud. Although he failed to visit the winner's circle in 2023, he was never worse than third and placed in four consecutive Group 1 events. He was last seen finishing second in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot Oct. 21. The Dubai Turf victory marked the kickoff of his 2024 campaign.

With a fourth Dubai Turf not in the cards, Lord North appeared to exit his eighth-place finish well.

“He had a great spot, great cover,” said regular Dubai partner Frankie Dettori. “He travelled great into the straight, but he just didn't have the gears that he had in the past. We are all getting older, right?”

 

Pedigree Notes

Facteur Cheval is the first Group 1 winner for France's Ribchester, a resident of Darley's Haras du Logis, and one of nine black-type winners for the son of Iffraaj (GB) worldwide, which include two group winners in Australia. A four-time Group 1 winner himself between England and France, Ribchester also was third in the 2017 Dubai Turf. Facteur Cheval, one of 102 stakes winners out of a daughter of the late Shamardal, is a member of his sire's first crop.

The unraced Jawlaat, a Shadwell-consigned 18,000gns purchase in 2016 at Tattersalls February by McCracken Farms–breeder of Facteur Cheval–has a yearling colt by Sottsass (Fr). She is a half-sister to multiple group winner Tantheem (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) and hails from the same family as Shadwell's multiple Group 1 winner Tamayuz (GB) (Nayef).

Jawlaat was a third-generation Shadwell-bred whose fifth dam, Allegretta (GB) (Lombard {Ger}), produced both 2000 G1 2000 winner King's Best (Kingmambo) and the immortal Urban Sea (Miswaki). The latter–herself winner of the 1993 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe–is responsible for a breed-shaping dynasty, not least through her sons Galileo (Ire) and Sea The Stars (Ire).

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
DUBAI TURF SPONSORED BY DP WORLD-G1, AED5,000,000, Meydan, 3-30, 3yo/up, 9fT, 1:45.91, gd.
1–FACTEUR CHEVAL (IRE), 126, g, 5, by Ribchester (Ire)
                1st Dam: Jawlaat (Ire), by Shamardal
                2nd Dam: Riqa (GB), by Dubawi (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Thamarat (GB), by Anabaa
1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (145,000gns Wlg '19 TATFOA;
€120,000 Ylg '20 ARDEAY). O-Team Valor International & Gary
Barber; B-McCracken Farms (IRE); T-Jerome Reynier; J-Maxime
Guyon. $2,900,000. Lifetime Record: GSW & MG1SP-Fr, G1SP-
Eng, 14-6-4-3, $3,748,163. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Namur (Jpn), 121, m, 5, Harbinger (GB)–Sambre Et Meuse
(Jpn), by Daiwa Major (Jpn). O-Carrot Farm Co Ltd; B-Northern
Farm (JPN); T-Tomokazo Takano. $1,000,000.
3–Danon Beluga (Jpn), 126, h, 5, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Coasted, by
Tizway. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (¥160,000,000 Wlg '19
JRHAJUL). O-Danox Co Ltd; B-Northern Farm (JPN); T-Noriyuki
Hori. $500,000.
Margins: SHD, 3/4, HF.
Also Ran: Measured Time (GB), Do Deuce (Jpn), Straight Arron, Calif (Ger), Lord North (Ire), Nashwa (GB), San Donato (Ire), Real World (Ire), Cairo (Ire), Voyage Bubble (Aus), Luxembourg (Ire), Matenro Sky (Jpn). Also Ran (DNF): Catnip.
Click for the ERA chart & video.

 

O-Team Valor International LLC and Gary Barber; B-McCracken Farms (Ire); T-Jerome Reynier.

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Saturday Preview: The Flat Is Back

Ireland's Flat action may have already started and France's has been rumbling on for several days, but for many the real beginning to the season on the level is Doncaster's Lincoln H. on a Saturday which wrests the attention from the national hunt in no uncertain terms. Whether there is a horse of the calibre of Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) lurking in the prestigious mile handicap remains to be seen, but there is a strong vibe surrounding another member of the William Haggas tribe in 'TDN Rising Star' Al Mubhir (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who is the mount of Doncaster specialist Andrea Atzeni now operating as a freelance in a 2023 that will define his future riding career. “I thought he was going to be a good horse,” Haggas said of Al Mubhir, who had looked pattern-class all over when entered in the G3 Craven S. 12 months ago. “He won his maiden very nicely at Newmarket as a two-year-old and then I thought he was going to be a nice three-year-old. Then he was very disappointing. He was pretty unruly as well and lost his way a bit, but he finished the season well. I don't know how good he is, but he's always been a nice horse and I think he's in good shape.”

Donny Delights…

Also at Doncaster are the Listed Cammidge Trophy, which sees the return of the still-unexposed G2 Sandy Lane S. winner El Caballo (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) returning for the first time since beating only two home as the joint-favourite for the G1 Commonwealth Cup, and the Listed Doncaster Mile while the 2-year-olds assembled for the opening Brocklesby Conditions S.

 

Plat Du Jour…

'TDN Rising Star' Pensee Du Jour | Scoop Dyga

It is at Saint-Cloud that the high-stakes action takes place, however, with Andre Fabre seeking a third straight success with TDN Rising Star Pensee Du Jour (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in the G3 Prix Penelope. Staged over the 10 1/2-furlong trip of the Prix de Diane, the renowned trial has surprisingly not been won by a subsequent heroine of that Classic since Pensee Du Jour 's distant relative Pawneese (Ire), the Wildensteins' champion of 1976. Fabre already holds the record of nine in this and the way the Ballymore Thoroughbred representative went through her maiden at Chantilly in February and the Listed Prix Rose de Mai here early this month suggests that number 10 is imminent.

Come On, Get Happy…

Ballydoyle have begun the year with gusto and the presence of two of the stable's runners in the Penelope is certain to be an indicator of what is to come as Rosegreen look more to France than ever before. Ryan Moore is here and not on the aforementioned favourite for the Lincoln, so it is up to another daughter of Camelot in Be Happy (Ire) to make up for that missed opportunity. Impressive at Cork on debut in September, the relative of the Prix du Jockey Club hero Anabaa Blue (GB) and of the great Urban Sea was only fifth in The Curragh's G3 Staffordstown Stud S. the following month but this is a new year and her rider is quietly confident. “Be Happy will enjoy the expected soft ground and she is a filly we like,” he said. “She probably didn't get the run of the race at the Curragh and this longer trip will suit.” Jean-Claude Rouget saddles Denford Stud's dual Cagnes-Sur-Mer scorer Iznik (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), while Gainesway Ventures' Arqana December purchase Speirling Beag (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) adds weight having won Leopardstown's G3 Eyrefield S. and been in front of Be Happy when third in the Staffordstown.

Old Habits Die Hard…

In the G3 Prix Edmond Blanc, Al Asayl France's stalwart The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) has everything in his favour as he bids for a third renewal following his win in the course-and-distance Listed Prix Altipan three weeks ago, with the G3 Prix Perth one-two Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) and Tribalist (GB) (Farhh {GB}) and the 2021 G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and G1 Criterium International hero Angel Bleu (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) offering stern opposition. Unbeaten at this venue in five starts on ground that rode softer than good, the 8-year-old former QEII hero still sets the standard in this type of company.

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