Al Shira’aa Racing to Sponsor Prix Vanteaux

Al Shira'aa Racing have been announced as the new sponsors of the G3 Prix Vanteaux in a two-year partnership with France Galop. The 2024 edition of the Al Shira'aa Racing Prix Vanteaux, run over nine furlongs for three-year-old fillies, will be held at Longchamp's opening fixture of the season on Sunday, April 7.

Kieran Lalor, Al Shira'aa Racing's bloodstock and racing manager, said, “We are delighted to come on board as sponsor of the Group 3 Prix Vanteaux. It is a very important prep race for the Classics and one we hold dearly having won it in the past with Rumi and Jannah Rose, both trained by Carlos Laffon Parias.

“Sheikha Fatima Bin Zayed Al Nahan [founder and owner of Al Shira'aa Racing] was very happy about this opportunity and it is a nice way for us to give back to French Racing, which has been so good to us in the past. We would like to thank the team at France Galop and ParisLongchamp for the opportunity and look forward to continuing this partnership into the future. Now we need to find our next filly to compete for us in this race.”

Guillaume de Saint-Seine, president of France Galop, added, “We are very proud to welcome Al Shira'aa Racing into the fold of partners who sponsor important racing events in the French racing calendar. The decision of its owner Sheikha Fatima Bin Zayed Al Nahan to support the race, once more shows the attractiveness of our racing program.

“An owner and breeder, she is an internationally renowned figure in the racing industry and very well known in France. On behalf of everyone involved, I wish her all the best and success for the upcoming season.”

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Laffon-Parias To Retire At The End Of 2024

Carlos Laffon-Parias, the first Spanish trainer to win the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, announced on Wednesday that he will retire from training at the end of the year.

Based in Chantilly, Laffon-Parias is best known as the trainer of Solemia (Ire) (Poliglote {GB}), who caused an upset when beating leading Japanese hope Orfevre (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) in the 2012 running of Europe's premier middle-distance race. He also won the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on the same card with Silasol (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}), while the likes of Laverock (Ire) (Octagonal {NZ}), Falco (Pivotal {GB}) and Recoletos (Fr) (Whipper) were other top-level winners for their trainer during a career in France spanning more than three decades.

In 2023, Laffon-Parias saddled two new Group 1 winners, including Prix de la Foret heroine Kelina (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) who, the trainer confirmed, will race on as a four-year-old as he prepares to embark on his final season.

Explaining his decision to retire, Laffon-Parias told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, “The last three years I've talked with my wife regarding the decision to stop and go back home [to Spain]. My sons are now working and have left the house, so it's time for me and my wife to change our lives.

“I'm healthy, I'll be 61 next month. I think when you're healthy is the right time to do it. I've worked all my life from Monday to Sunday and I want to do other things rather than to work 11 months a year, every single day. I think it's the right time to do it, otherwise it might be too late.

“I see a lot of trainers finish their careers because they haven't got any more horses to train or they have financial problems. I don't want to have those problems. I want to stop and I don't need much to live with. We've got a house already in the south of Spain, I'm going to sell my yard, and this is enough for me and my wife.”

Laffon-Parias added of Kelina, “The Wertheimer Brothers have decided to keep her in training and she's a very sound filly. There isn't a race for her until May 1, the Prix du Muguet. That is a Group 2 and then there is Royal Ascot or the Falmouth. We could run in the Lockinge against the colts, but I would prefer to take more time. There are a lot of races for her, but nothing before the middle of the year.”

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Frankel’s Jannah Rose Back With A Win In The Prix Alec Head

Al Shira'aa Farms' bonanza weekend continued apace at Deauville on Sunday, with their star filly Jannah Rose (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) coming back from her midsummer break to win the 10-furlong G2 Sumbe Prix Alec Head which is the re-named Prix de la Nonette. Off since her anti-climactic sixth in the G1 Prix de Diane, the G1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine was restrained to race in third by Christophe Soumillon off the moderate pace set by the G2 Ribblesdale S. runner-up and G1 Irish Oaks fourth Lumiere Rock (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}). Having to fight once she had got alongside that rival 150 metres from the finish, the 7-10 favourite proved equal to the task to prevail by a head. “It's a great honour as, to me, the Head family are one of the biggest families in the racing world so to win the first one under Alec Head's name means a lot to me,” the rider said. “We had a lot of good wins together and while it's always sad to lose somebody so important in racing, he has left a great legacy.”

 

The win had added import, with Carlos Laffon-Parias being the husband of Alec Head's granddaughter Patricia. “It's nice to see her leave her race in the Prix de Diane behind,” the trainer said. “This is the real Jannah Rose. She was a bit fresh and the pace wasn't quick enough for her, but in the end she quickened well and won safely I think. I will keep her over that trip and she will come back in the [G1] Prix de l'Opera.”

For Soumillon, success in the race in its inaugural new guise also carried significant weight. “It's a great honour as, to me, the Head family are one of the biggest families in the racing world so to win the first one under Alec Head's name means a lot to me,” the rider said. “We had a lot of good wins together and while it's always sad to lose somebody so important in racing, he has left a great legacy.”

Pedigree Notes

Jannah Rose's unraced dam Sophie Germain (Ire) (Indian Ridge [Ire}) is also responsible for the G2 Ridgewood Pearl S. winner Creggs Pipes (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) and the listed-placed Silver Spear (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}). The second dam is the G1 Oaks d'Italia heroine Nydrion (Critique), whose family includes the GI Breeders' Futurity hero and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Square Eddie (Smart Strike). She also has a 2-year-old filly by Invincible Spirit (Ire) bought by David Redvers for €280,000 at the Goffs Orby and a colt foal by Oasis Dream (GB).

Sunday, Deauville, France
SUMBE PRIX ALEC HEAD (PRIX DE LA NONETTE)-G2, €130,000, Deauville, 8-20, 3yo, f, 10fT, 2:13.18, vsf.
1–JANNAH ROSE (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Sophie Germain (Ire), by Indian Ridge (Ire)
2nd Dam: Nydrion, by Critique
3rd Dam: Nabila, by Foolish Pleasure
(€650,000 Ylg '21 GOFORB). O-Al Shira'aa Farms; B-John Hayes (IRE); T-Carlos Laffon-Parias; J-Christophe Soumillon. €130,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, 5-4-0-0, €270,450. *1/2 to Creggs Pipes (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), GSW-Ire, $289,014; and Silver Spear (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}), SP-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Lumiere Rock (Ire), 126, f, 3, Saxon Warrior (Jpn)–Last Gold (Fr), by Gold Away (Ire). (55,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Michael O'Flynn; B-The Last Partnership (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €28,600.
3–Eternal Hope (Ire), 123, f, 3, Teofilo (Ire)–Voice Of Truth (Ire), by Dubawi (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. €13,650.
Margins: HD, 1HF, 2. Odds: 0.70, 5.10, 9.00.
Also Ran: Pensee Du Jour (Ire), Abha (Fr). Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Chantilly: Can Blue Rose Cen Pull Off A Classic Double?

Beaten only once since her debut and now the proud owner of two Group 1 titles including the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) goes into the unknown on Sunday as she bids to extend her tally in Chantilly's G1 Prix de Diane Longines. So assured at ParisLongchamp, where she also garnered the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc day, the G3 Prix d'Aumale in September and G3 Prix de la Grotte in April, Yeguada Centurion SL's prized homebred now has to conquer new territory and a new trip. There should be no fears as far as stamina is concerned, being by Churchill who stayed this far at three out of a GIII Santa Barbara S. winner in Queen Blossom (Ire) (Jeremy).

Blue Rose Cen is after something rare and special here. Only the French legend Allez France in 1973, Divine Proportions in 2005 and Zarkava (Ire) in 2008 have completed the Marcel Boussac-Poule d'Essai des Pouliches-Diane treble, so there is that extra pressure on Christophe Head who looks to land this Classic 10 years on from the last of his aunt Criquette's in Treve (Fr).

“I think she is in prime form,” he said. “I'm crossing my fingers that everything goes well in terms of the longer trip. She is really one of those brilliant kinds and has been very professional the whole time. I have the feeling we can do it again–it's going to be a very nice race and of course we will encounter new fillies, good fillies, but I can't wait. She has a great mentality, has been easy to train and has been working brilliantly.”

 

Ready Yourself

This is as deep a Diane as has been seen for some time, with the Gosdens' representative Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion) almost certainly up to this standard on the evidence of her electric performance in Newmarket's Listed Pretty Polly S., Ballymore Thoroughbred Ltd's TDN Rising Star Pensee Du Jour (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) looking so dominant in the early-season staging posts of the Listed Prix Rose de Mai and G3 Prix Penelope, Ballydoyle's Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) moving up to a more suitable trip still giving off the vibe that she is a top-class filly in the making, and Al Shira'aa Farms's unbeaten G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner Jannah Rose (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) prompting such notable comments from the normally reticent Carlos Laffon-Parias.

 

Any Other Rose?

Jannah Rose may have fared best in the draw on Thursday, with her middle position in seven meaning Christophe Soumillon can make an early decision as to where best to position her throughout those all-important early stages. Three winners in the last nine years emerged from that stall and six of the last nine were drawn between six and nine and it is interesting to note that in the G3 Prix Vanteaux and Saint-Alary she was also drawn middle to wide. In the latter, she was produced to beat Elusive Princess  (Fr) (Martinborough {Jpn}) by just 3/4 of a length, but the manner of her performance suggests there will be plenty more to come faced with sterner opposition.

Carlos Laffon-Parias, who is part of the Head family having married Christopher's cousin Patricia, is after his first renewal and said, “I have come close before, but time is passing and I must win it before things become more complicated! I remain confident I will eventually win it and I hope that day is close at hand.”

 

Bridging The Gap

Blue Rose Cen has been putting some notable fillies in their place for some time now, but this is a different test and different day for a couple who are looking to make it closer. Never Ending Story was beaten over five lengths by Christopher Head's pride and joy in the Marcel Boussac, but that was after a troubled trip on contrastingly deep ground when things hadn't yet fallen into place for her. In one way, her five-length fifth in the Pouliches was a surprising backward step having looked so dynamic when slamming the 1000 Guineas third Matilda Picotte (Ire) (Sioux Nation) in Leopardstown's Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial in April, but there is a nagging sense that middle distances and summer ground will see her make a leap forward as it did for her dam Athena (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). Behind Blue Rose Cen in the Grotte and Pouliches, Everest Racing's Lindy (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) also has solid claims for being more competitive this time, but stall 13 is a major disadvantage and she will need all the luck from there.

Ryan Moore believes that his mount's story is far from over. “I don't think we saw the best of my filly at all when she was fifth in the French 1000 Guineas last time,” he said. “She didn't run badly, but she didn't fire and pick up as I was expecting as I thought she had a big shot at winning that race. However, I think she remains a Group 1 filly and I hope she can prove it over a trip that she is bred to get. She could just surprise some fillies with more obvious claims.”

 

Best Of The Rest

Chantilly's card also features the G3 Prix du Bois Longines, with the TDN Rising Star fillies Les Pavots (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Ramatuelle (Justify) taking on Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard and Bruno De Montzey's unbeaten colt Zorken (Fr) (Goken {Fr}) and the G3 Prix du Lys Longines, where Maniatic (Ire) (Intello {Ger}) and Don Diego De Vega (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) provide further evidence of the merits of Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) having chased home that impressive G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero in this venue's Listed Prix de Suresnes last month.

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