Patiently ridden off the tempo in sixth for the most part, the 8-5 favourite eased forward off the home turn and lengthened clear in taking fashion once quickening to the fore at the furlong pole to easily account for Godolphin's Kind Of Kiss (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) by an impressive 3 1/2 lengths.

“Delius is a nice horse, who will develop into a good middle-distance prospect,” commented trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. “The more we advance through the season, the better he will be. He quickened really nicely and won well, so that is most encouraging.”

Delius is the ninth of 11 foals and fifth scorer produced by a full-sister to Listed Chesham S. victrix Whazzat (GB) (Daylami {Ire}), herself the dam of G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest runner-up and dual Group-winning sire James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). Descendants of his second dam Wosaita (GB) (Generous {Ire}), herself a half-sister to G1 Prix de Diane-winning matriarch Rafha (GB) (Kris {GB}), also include multiple Grade I-winning US champion and GI Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Uni (GB) (More Than Ready). The February-foaled bay is a full-brother to multiple Group-placed Listed Wolferton S. winner Juan Elcano (GB) and a half to G3 Hoppings S. victrix Nkosikazi (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}). He is also kin to a 2-year-old filly by Sea The Moon (Ger) and a yearling filly by Kingman (GB).

1st-ParisLongchamp, €27,000, Mdn, 4-7, unraced 3yo, c/g, 10 1/2fT, 2:25.34, vhy.
DELIUS (GB), c, 3, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Whatami (GB), by Daylami (Ire)
2nd Dam: Wosaita (GB), by Generous (Ire)
3rd Dam: Eljazzi (Ire), by Artaius
Sales history: 675,000gns Wlg '21 TATFOA. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, €13,500. *Full to Juan Elcano (GB), SW & MGSP-Eng, $175,305; and 1/2 to Nkosikazi (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}), GSW-Eng. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor & Westerberg; B-Mr & Mrs David Brown (GB); T-Jean-Claude Rouget; J-Cristian Demuro.

The post Frankel’s Delius Attains TDN Rising Star Status In Paris appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Set alight by Cristian Demuro approaching two out, the 2-1 favourite who is G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches-bound swamped Godolphin's Vertbois (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) a furlong later en route to an authoritative three-length success. Last year's Criterium d'Ete winner Jasna's Secret (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), who had started favourite for the G1 Cheveley Park S. only to disappoint when last seen, was a further length behind in third.

“I think she might have hurt herself on her debut at Saint-Cloud, but she showed a lot of quality in her second race and now she will go straight to the [G1] Poule d'Essai des Pouliches,” Rouget said. “She has six weeks now and the season is long, so she will go there directly. Siyouni is extraordinary–when they are good they are good and it's not only me who thinks that, if I could only train them it would be good. We've taught her to relax and I think for now the mile will be okay.”

Louise Procter, a €360,000 Arqana Deauville August graduate, joins the likes of St Mark's Basilica (Fr), Sottsass (Fr), Paddington (GB) and Tahiyra (Ire) as she adds to her sire's TDN Rising Star tally. She is the third foal out of the Chelsey Flower S. winner Create A Dream (Oasis Dream {GB}), whose second is last year's California Derby runner-up Phosphorescence (Fr) (City Of Light).

The aforementioned Anabaa's Creation, who captured the Listed Prix Isonomy before placing in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary in this country, was also runner-up in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. She is a half-sister to the G3 Prix Cleopatre winner Leo's Starlet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), whose full-sibling Starlet's Sister (Ire) is the dam of the Arc hero Sottsass himself, the champion turf female Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}), the multiple group and graded-stakes scorer and GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and GI Flower Bowl S. runner-up My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}) and another notable Siyouni in the G1 Hopeful S. runner-up Shin Emperor (Fr).
Create A Dream also has the 2-year-old filly Say Yes To Dreams (Ire) again by Siyouni and a yearling son of Dark Angel (Ire) to come.

Classic contender!

Siyouni filly Louise Procter has French Classic entries and makes a blistering return to action in the Du Belvedere Stakes at @fgchantilly for Cristian Demuro and Jean-Claude Rouget… pic.twitter.com/jlA9ryIeSl

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) March 28, 2024

3rd-Chantilly, €35,000, Cond, 3-28, 3yo, 7f (AWT), 1:27.46, st.
LOUISE PROCTER (FR), f, 3, by Siyouni (Fr)
   1st Dam: Create A Dream, by Oasis Dream (GB)
   2nd Dam: Anabaa's Creation (Ire), by Anabaa
   3rd Dam: Premiere Creation (Fr), by Green Tune
Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, €49,500. O-White Birch Farm; B-St Elias Stable LLC (FR); T-Jean-Claude Rouget. *€360,000 Ylg '22 ARQAUG. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Et de 4 pour Puchkine !

Le pensionnaire de Jean-Claude Rouget s'adjuge le Prix Torrestrella (Classe 1) à Toulouse et reste invaincu en compétition : 4 courses – 4 victoires.

Poulain à suivre, engagé dans la Poule d'Essai des Poulains et le Prix du Jockey Club. pic.twitter.com/yT5FoVLWrj

— Equidia (@equidia) March 20, 2024

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Those closer to the business end of the stallion market will appreciate the fine line that had to be walked by Kamel Chehboub and his daughter Pauline in making their decision either to continue the racing career of the unbeaten colt they share with Serge Stempniak, or hasten his departure to their brand new stallion operation at Haras de Beaumont. In the end, heads trumped hearts, and while Ace Impact's retirement is racing's loss, it is also very much French breeding's gain.

The man who had the most right to feel aggrieved at Thursday's confirmation of the end of Ace Impact's racing career is Jean-Claude Rouget, who first set eyes on him as a yearling at Arqana two summers ago, and has delivered a masterclass, from Cagnes-sur-Mer to the Bois de Boulogne, in how to train a top-class racehorse. Rouget, though, understands the demands of both sides of the industry all too well, and is magnanimous in regard to the decision that has been taken to stand Ace Impact in Normandy, where the trainer himself was born 70 years ago. 

“I was very pleased to sell the share [in Ace Impact] to Kamel because he is very audacious and he is taking a lot of risk, and in France we need people like that,” Rouget says in a pause between recruiting the next batch of yearlings at Tattersalls.

“I was very pleased that the horse was going to stay in France at stud. It's a wonderful opportunity for the breeders. I am not a breeder myself but I think about the French breeders always going to England and Ireland every year, and we need a better stallion roster than we have. We had Siyouni and Wootton Bassett but Siyouni is getting old and Wootton Bassett has left, so we need some young horses.

“I hope he will become a good stallion, but nobody knows. A new book will open.”

The old book, let's call it the first in the series, was more novella than novel, but it was epic all the same. All we can do now is watch scenes from the story of the season on replay, and we are not alone in so doing.

Last year he was just asking me to give him time.

“What I did the other night as I was trying to get to sleep was to review Ace Impact's six races in fifteen minutes,” says Rouget, as much in awe of the horse as the rest of us.

“It was very interesting. He always had quality. Last year he was just asking me to give him time. He had very bad skin in the summer, which is not usual, so I decided to wait until the winter to start with him.”

Lucky for Ace Impact that he was bought – at €75,000 – by a trainer who has been around long enough to listen when a horse finds his own method of communication. Rouget is of course no stranger to success. In 1991, he set a French record with his 178 wins for the season, but quality has long surpassed quantity.

Three years after that, Millkom (GB) was his breakthrough star, from little heard-of provincial tracks to the big city, winning the Prix Jean Prat and Grand Prix de Paris and becoming the trainer's first runner in the Arc. It took another quarter of a century for Rouget to win that race, but in the last few seasons his impression on the Arc has been emphatic, with victory for Sottsass (Fr) in 2020 followed this year by Ace Impact. In the interim he had a second and fourth with Vadeni (Fr) and Al Hakeem (GB).

It is the Prix du Jockey Club which Rouget can these days just about call his own, however. Since his first win in the Classic with Le Havre (Ire) in 2009 – the year in which he became champion trainer for the first time, having also won the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and Prix de Diane with Elusive Wave (Ire) and Stacelita (Fr) – he has now won it six times. Ace Impact's track-record-breaking success in this year's Jockey Club may well go down as one of the most visually impressive of all time. He broke the hearts of supporters of Big Rock (Ire) as he sped past, gathering a head of steam as if propelled by slingshot from the back of the pack. This was the first time the wider racing world outside France had woken up to the colt's extraordinary talents, but Rouget was already firmly of the opinion that he had a good 'un on his hands. 

Casting his mind back to January 26 and Cagnes-sur-Mer, he says, “We gave him a nice first race and he showed good acceleration. At that time it wasn't the same as we saw later in the year, but it was enough to win.

“After that we gave him two months because I knew we had to continue to give him time, expecting a good spring and summer. In Bordeaux he won well, he didn't have the best trip on the outside and he was pulling a bit, but he won easily. After that we started the process to make him into a Group 1 winner.”

He adds, “We passed by Chantilly to show him the track. In the Prix de Suresnes he was blocked inside but again he won very easily and that was the confirmation that he was a very good horse.”

Rouget, whose training career began in Pau in south-west France, has in recent years increased his satellite stable in Deauville. But he sensibly still steers the easiest route possible to the metropolitan tracks if he can. Of the decision to start Ace Impact at the seaside in the south of France, he says, “We had to choose a path: to run at two a couple of times or to start in March. To me, it's very difficult to start in March and to have a Group 1 horse. I did it with Valyra and she won the Diane two months later, but it is very rare. 

“I prefer to give them experience and, to me, Cagnes-sur-Mer is a very good track. I used to send 30 or 40 horses every winter. I did the same with Raabihah. She should have won the Diane for me. She was a close fourth, and after [Cagnes] she won [a Listed race] in Longchamp. I consider running in January to be the same as running in November. I don't push my horses to start. First time out I want there to be no risk.”

He continues, “Deauville is very interesting but I like Pau, I prefer to have the yearlings there, because Deauville is racetrack. Pau is a special training centre beside the racetrack.

“I think it is better for them to start in the provinces where racing is less strong at the beginning and you can give them one or two races to build their confidence. After that you can go to Deauville to try to win a Listed race. I prefer that route to starting in Longchamp or Deauville with a knife in their teeth.”

Ace Impact brought his own weapon to his tussles at Chantilly, Deauville and Longchamp in his killer turn of foot. He retires as the European champion three-year-old of 2023, having blazed, comet-like, through a career which spanned a little over eight months. 

He had been under the tutelage of Rouget and his team since the August of 2021, however. By then, his half-brother Alessandro (Fr) (Australia {GB}) had been second on three starts for Rouget, including in the Prix du Suquet on debut, the same race won by his sibling two years later on his own first visit to the races. 

I am very happy to choose my horses myself and to train them,
and to understand why I did well or why I did badly.

Rouget, then, was not entirely unfamiliar with the offspring of Absolutly Me (Fr) (Anabaa Blue {GB}). The 14-year-old mare is owned by German breeder Waltraut Spanner and resides at Barbara Moser's Haras du Long Champ – about as prophetic a birthplace for a future Arc winner as there could be.

Alessandro went on to win three races and finish second in a Listed contest, while his younger brother moved between Pau and Deauville, his trainer just biding his time.

Recalling his impression of Ace Impact at the yearling sales, Rouget says, “It was his conformation. He was very pleasing to watch, and his dam was doing well.”

Anyone who has seen the trainer in action at the sales will know that watching is what he does best. A regular presence ringside, he selects his own horses, and is analytical while accepting the blame if things don't go to plan. Such a lesson in scrutiny would be well learned by prospective bloodstock agents.

“It's my premiere passion to buy yearlings, maybe more than to train horses,” he says. “I am very happy to choose my horses myself and to train them, and to understand why I did well or why I did badly. Year after year I watch what I bought and ask myself, 'why is this one no good?' It's very interesting.”

Rouget was among the buyers last week at Tattersalls, and he will certainly feature prominently at Arqana this week, a sale which is a home from home for him in Deauville. It will be hard to find one to match Ace Impact, but the trainer will not be deterred from trying to unearth a fledgling racehorse with similar qualities.

“He has a tremendous stride,” Rouget says in attempting to pinpoint what set his newly retired star apart. “The same acceleration with a horse who doesn't move as well as he does is less effective. But his allows him to go very fast; he is covering a lot of ground, with an engine, and as the year went on he became more and more impressive.”

While he awaits the first offspring of Ace Impact at the sales, Rouget this year has had a chance to peruse yearlings by his first Arc winner, another home-grown French star, Sottsass. 

“I try to stay neutral but I have to accept that his horses walk well and seem, like him, to have good minds,” he says. “I have bought a few and Peter Brant will send me a few that he has bred. We will try to help Sottsass to become a good stallion.”

In the meantime, Ace Impact has helped his trainer to become champion for the second year running, having snatched the title back from his arch rival Andre Fabre last year. Since Rouget's first championship in 2009, it has passed to and fro between the pair, with Rouget's impending coronation marking his fifth time at the top of the table. 

He says, “There has been a challenge between Andre Fabre and me for a long time, especially in the last four or five years. Before, he was always in front, but I beat him in 2009, and 2016 was for me the best year with plenty of good horses. 

“For me, when I was a young trainer in Pau I couldn't even imagine that. I am very proud of it. Step by step we have built up the stable over 45 years.”

Step by step, too, he built the career of the best racehorse we have seen in Europe this year, one which was shrewdly not started too early, but which finished all too soon. It was brief, he was brilliant, and boy did he make an impact. 

The post Rouget: ‘It’s My Premiere Passion to Buy Yearlings, Maybe More Than to Train Horses’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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We already know where he will stand at stud eventually since his part-sale after his victory in the Prix du Jockey Club to the Chehboub family's Gousserie Racing. Kamel and his daughter Pauline Cheboub will now decide with their partner and the colt's original owner Serge Stempniak and trainer Jean-Claude Rouget whether the unbeaten star will retire to their Haras de Beaumont for the 2024 covering season or remain in training as a 4-year-old.

In an update on Ace Impact on Monday morning, Pauline Cheboub told TDN, “He's in good shape and recovering well. We're really happy with him.

“We'll take the decision this week with the team and our partners and take the time to make the right decision for the horse. He deserves that.”

Kamel Cheboub, a long-time owner and breeder in France through his Haras de la Gousserie, was revealed this time last year as the buyer of a major part of the historic Haras du Quesnay, just outside Deauville. Christened Haras de Beaumont, the new stallion operation opened its doors earlier this year with the G1 Champion S. and G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Sealiway (Fr) as its first headline stallion, backed up on the roster by the Wertheimer brothers' Intello (Ger). Mathieu Alex, who played such a key role, along with Sylvain Vidal, in the success of the stallion career of Le Havre (Ire), was appointed to manage Haras de Beaumont. 

The temptation will obviously be strong to retire a colt of the calibre of Ace Impact to stud, but Chehboub insisted that her family and Stempniak will take their time to consider the best course of action.

She continued, “We don't know his limits but it's difficult to top this season. He's a champion.

“It's an exciting time for us. We are very lucky to be part of this and we are pleased that we have a horse like him that we will be able to bring eventually to the French breeders, and Sealiway as well.”

Chehboub added, “We're lucky to have a great team – from the trainer, jockey and at the stud. Mathieu Alex is a great horseman and does such a great job. We're all just enjoying the moment.”

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“C'est enorme,” uttered an emotional Jean-Claude Rouget after watching his unbeaten star rattle home past most of his rivals under a supremely confident Cristian Demuro in the home straight and dominate the final furlong. At the line, there was 1 3/4 lengths between the 19-10 favourite and Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who held on by a short head from Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) to make Cracksman's sire the King of the Arc as he was 12 months ago.

Here was a genuine throwback Arc winner, a proper one who was also remarkably the first French-trained 3-year-old colt to win since Rail Link (GB) in 2006. The previous 15 years before that had witnessed the crack colts Suave Dancer, Helissio (Fr), Peintre Celebre, Montjeu (Ire) and Dalakhani (Ire) completing the 12-furlong Jockey-Club-Arc double and Ace Impact slots right into that company. His Chantilly performance was sensational, running the final three furlongs in an outstanding :34.01 and this was comparable, flying home in :33.06.

“We always say they are the best when they win, but I think what sets him apart is his strong acceleration. It is something I have never seen,” his trainer said. “He's an extraordinary horse, a crack. He's left us speechless. He had a very clean race and his stride-devouring action did the rest. The big winner today is a man that dares, Kamel Chehboub, who bought half of Ace Impact even though he doesn't have a Classic pedigree, as well as Horizon Dore so he now has the two best 3-year-old colts in France! I don't know if he will go straight to the stud or run next year. It will be decided between the two owners and me, but I don't know yet.”

Masterfully prepared by Rouget, who avoided the temptation to go the Almanzor route via the Irish Champion and who instead fed the flame with more straightforward task-setting in the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano, Ace Impact has endured a steep climb to the summit having only begun his career at Cagnes-sur-Mer in January while these rivals were in steady winter work.

His Arc tour de force was completed over 10 seconds faster than that of Alpinista (GB) 12 months ago, which truly demonstrates the extremities of ground we are dealing with from 2022 to 2023. The only complaint can be that this renewal was missing Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), who would have both relished the freak conditions which led to the fastest Longchamp Arc time since Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}) in 2011 and fourth-fastest in history behind her, Peintre Celebre and Bago (Fr) (Nashwan).

This was a no-drama, no-excuses renewal that was run at a fair if not exacting pace, with the German colt Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}) carving it out in front of the free-running Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) before Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) emerged to keep the leader honest. Demuro was in no hurry, with last year's G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Onesto tracking his every move at the tail of the field with the Japanese mare Through Seven Seas (Jpn) (Dream Journey {Jpn}) also with the anchor firmly down.

Straightening for home, the runners panned out perfectly across the track so that there was ample room for all the main contenders and Westover was the first to strike as he mastered his King George conqueror at the 300-metre marker. For his connections, any excitement was all too brief as the orange silks emerged a few lanes out wide and within a few split seconds this GI Breeders' Cup Turf qualifier was decided.

This represented a welcome return to form for TDN Rising Star Onesto following his Irish Champion S. flop, shadowing Ace Impact all the way to the line to record an identical closing three-furlong time as the winner. The Fabrice Chappet-trained 4-year-old also closed out the Arc with the fastest final-furlong split of all the runners, finishing with a rapid :10.99. Through Seven Seas and the G1 St Leger hero Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) closed together to the line, emerging from the pack almost in unison as a celebration of their Japanese heritage.

Ralph Beckett said of Westover, who was second-best yet again as he had been in the Dubai Sheema Classic, Coronation Cup and King George. “What a run, I'm delighted. At the top of the straight I thought we were in business, but there was just one better. He's gone and done it again, which is terrific for everyone. I'm so proud of him. I always fancied the Breeders' Cup Turf for him, because he's a horse who enjoys his time away, as we saw in Dubai. The Breeders' Cup Turf is shaping up to be the best ever isn't it? But that's life and I think we will probably go.”

Fabrice Chappet's Onesto is Breeders' Cup Turf-bound also. “I did say that his last outing in the Irish Champion S. didn't count,” he said. “Apart from that, Onesto has always run up to his best without necessarily having a happy time of it on each occasion. Today, he found himself a long way back but he had a good race in the slipstream of the winner. Unfortunately, older horses who carry three kilos more than the three-year-olds don't go as fast. It would be logical to head to the Breeders' Cup.”

Tomohito Ozeki said of Through Seven Seas, “It was a sprint in the straight, but I am pleased at the way she finished. We don't know whether she will run again. It depends how she is because the Arc is such a great challenge for a horse.”

Aidan O'Brien also suggested that the early pace was not in Continuous's favour. “We're very happy. We made the decision to take our time and let him relax,” he said. “They sprinted the last two furlongs, but he wasn't finished and ran all the way to the line. He looks like he wants a strongly run mile-and-a-half so obviously we can look at Japan, Hong Kong, America and Dubai. He's a very legitimate horse and a ready-made 4-year-old. He loves travelling and the best is yet to come.”

Pedigree Notes

Born in Ireland but bred in France by Waltraut Spanner, Ace Impact who hails from the first crop of Cracksman was purchased for €75,000 at the Arqana Deauville August Sale where he was consigned by Elise Drouet's Domaine de l'Etang. The dam Absolutly Me, who was twice listed-placed, has also produced the useful Alessandro (Fr) (Australia {GB}) and Apollo Flight (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) who also achieved placings at that level.

The third dam Barakat (GB) (Bustino {GB}), a half-sister to the four-times Group 1-winning Ibn Bey (GB) (Mill Reef) and the G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Roseate Tern (GB) (Blakeney {GB}), was responsible for the stakes winner and GII Santa Barbara runner-up Mabadi (Sahm) who in turn produced the dual listed winner and dual group-placed Salai (Fr) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) to her credit. This is also the family of the talented Red Camellia (GB) (Polar Falcon) who was third in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches before producing the G1 Fillies' Mile heroine Red Bloom (GB) (Selkirk). Absolutly Me's unraced 2-year-old colt by Gleneagles (Ire) is named Arrow Eagle (Fr). He is in training with Jean-Claude Rouget under the colours of Waltraut Spanner.

LE SACRE D'ACE IMPACT DANS LE QATAR PRIX DE L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE !

Le pensionnaire de Jean-Claude Rouget, représentant de Serge Stempniak, reste invaincu en six sorties, quelle impression !

2 ème Arc pour Jean-Claude Rouget !

Westover
Onesto pic.twitter.com/UMUAJtpbb2

— Equidia (@equidia) October 1, 2023

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX DE L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE-G1, €5,000,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-1, 3yo/up, c/f, 12fT, 2:25.50, g/s.
1–ACE IMPACT (IRE), 125, c, 3, by Cracksman (GB)
1st Dam: Absolutly Me (Fr) (SP-Fr & Ger), by Anabaa Blue (GB)
2nd Dam: Tadawul, by Diesis (GB)
3rd Dam: Barakat (GB), by Bustino (GB)
(€75,000 Ylg '21 ARQAUG). O-Ecuries Serge Stempniak & Gousserie Racing; B-Mme Waltraut Spanner (IRE); T-Jean-Claude Rouget; J-Cristian Demuro. €2,857,000. Lifetime Record: 6-6-0-0, €3,996,100. *1/2 to Apollo Flight (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), MSP-Fr, $139,492; and Alessandro (Fr) (Australia {GB}), SP-Fr, $111,837. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Westover (GB), 131, c, 4, Frankel (GB)–Mirabilis, by Lear Fan. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Ralph Beckett. €1,143,000.
3–Onesto (Ire), 131, c, 4, Frankel (GB)–Onshore (GB), by Sea The Stars (Ire). (185,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT; $535,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Gerard Augustin-Normand, Jean-Etienne Dubois, Ecurie Hunter Valley, Haras d'Etreham, Ecurie Billon, Ecurie Elag, Fabrice Chappet & Hubert Guy; B-Diamond Creek Farm (IRE); T-Fabrice Chappet. €571,500.
Margins: 1 3/4, SHD, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.90, 6.40, 55.00.
Also Ran: Through Seven Seas (Jpn), Continuous (Jpn), Bay Bridge (GB), Sisfahan (Fr), Feed The Flame (GB), Hukum (Ire), Simca Mille (Ire), Fantastic Moon (Ger), Place Du Carrousel (Ire), Free Wind (Ire), Haya Zark (Fr), Mr Hollywood (Ire). Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post No Stopping Cracksman’s Ace Impact In The Arc appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Rouget is a veteran of keeping his head in such situations and he was typically steady in his pre-race assessment this week. “We're not going to do anything special,” he said. “He's quite calm in the morning and while it's true that in a race, like all good horses, he's more exuberant we shall just handle it as we always do. The track is going to be fast enough so everyone will be able to find a position and I'm not really worried that there isn't going to be any pace.”

“Ace Impact, given his stride devouring-action, should relish these conditions,” Rouget added. “We can't be absolutely certain that he'll stay the trip, but the manner in which he finishes his races allied to the fact that his sire had the required stamina lend me to feel fairly optimistic. The fact that he's discovering Longchamp for the first time isn't a worry, as the colt is a straightforward ride once he settles. The race holds no particular terrors! I'm just hoping for a race run at a proper gallop.”

The Flame Still Burns…

   In the days of the old 12-furlong Prix du Jockey Club, it was Pascal Bary who held sway with five winners but surprisingly none of them managed to provide him with the Arc victory he so covets. Surprisingly, his top-class 1998 Chantilly Classic hero Dream Well (Fr) (Sadler's Wells) cut no ice that year at Longchamp while his best Jockey Club hero  Sulamani (Ire) (Hernando {Fr}) beat High Chaparral (Ire) in the 2002 Arc but failed to get past Marienbard (Ire) (Caerleon). Perhaps the fairytale victory will come during his twilight via his longstanding supporter and friend Jean-Louis Bouchard's TDN Rising Star Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB}). This lightly-raced and probably still-improving colt is tried and tested over the course and distance on similar ground and the manner of his G1 Grand Prix de Paris display lingers in the memory.

“He really likes Longchamp, because it's a track that allows him the time to produce his potential,” Bary reflected. “He's a horse that likes to take his time and at Longchamp he can do that because there's the long straight. He's a horse that can be a bit cold at the beginning of a race, but he develops throughout the race as he goes further and he showed in the Grand Prix de Paris that he accelerated really well in the final straight.”

“Having such a horse at the end of my career is something very fortunate,” the trainer added. “Jean-Louis Bouchard is very upbeat ahead of Sunday, we have a magnificent colt and are heading to the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with a chance. Obviously, we are heading there with a mix of pleasure and enthusiasm and if not this year, it will be next year! He will be an even better four-year-old.”

Japan's Long Wait To End?

Over the past two seasons, it is clear that Japan sits at the forefront of the international racing world and most would agree that it is only a matter of time before the country achieves the Arc glory it has strived for with such admirable determination and patience. While the 5-year-old mare Through Seven Seas (Jpn) (Dream Journey {Jpn}) seemed the unlikeliest of flagbearers for the nation when winning a Nakayama handicap in January, she has since used a win in the G3 Laurel R C Sho Nakayama Himba S. as a springboard to the big time.

That came when pushing the world's best Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) to a neck in Hanshin's G1 Takarazuka Kinen at a huge 55-1 and she has reportedly thrived since arriving in France. It is ironic that in a year when Equinox would have had his ideal ground to finally satiate Japan's hunger for his prize, his rider Christophe-Patrice Lemaire could still be in for the ultimate glory ride on what could be a supersub of supersubs.

Trainer Tomohito Ozeki is on the verge of history, notoriety and immortality and he knows it. “For any trainer, the Arc is a huge goal which seems somewhat removed, but it is now staring me right in the face,” he said. “Everything has gone well in her training. She has acclimatised really well to a new environment. Through Seven Seas has reached her optimum level as a five-year-old. In her younger days she showed a lot of temperament, ate little, was very thin and lacked strength. The mare was roughed off for the season after last August and she has strengthened up as a result. I believe in the mare.”

A Solid Cast…

Representing the brilliant-to-watch G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., the race that Aidan O'Brien said was “turned into a St Leger”, are the respective monarchs of two of the most successful breeding and racing operations in the sport in Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}). While Hukum's illustrious brother Baaeed (GB) ended his career in anti-climax in the soft ground that blurred his brilliance, Shadwell's latest flame could have done with plenty of the rain that undermined his sibling in last year's G1 Champion S. Instead he has none and a very difficult wide draw, so perhaps his desire for attritional warfare will go unrequited.

Juddmonte's Westover was a respectable sixth in the sapping, deep going in this 12 months ago, but a quartet of big shows at the top level this term demonstrate what an expert job Ralph Beckett has done with a colt that could have gone the wrong way. While he has a far-from-straightforward number one draw, Rob Hornby may have in his mind what his mount did when ridden forward by Colin Keane on a sound surface in last year's G1 Irish Derby.

Just what the G1 St Leger hero Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) is capable of is a tantalising mystery and he thankfully continues the long mission to at last marry the dear old Doncaster Classic and this ultimate prize. Had the former Ballydoyle legend Alleged not encountered the rock-hard Royal filly Dunfermline (GB) in that Classic prior to winning his first Arc in 1977, this would have been a story long since concluded. However, the stark fact is that in the extensive interim period there have been many in the Continuous category who have looked as good as him coming here only to have failed by some margin.

Thankfully for Germany, their own search for an Arc winner is already a past success story and the country is now a regular and rightly-respected presence in the race. In the hero of the 154th G1 Deutsches Derby, Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), it has another contender along with that Classic's runner-up Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}) who remains unexposed and potentially problematic for his adversaries. Fantastic Moon seemed to beat Feed The Flame fair and square in the course-and-distance G2 Prix Niel three weeks ago, while TDN Rising Star Mr Hollywood is not far off the standard of Westover based on his battle with the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud runner-up Zagrey (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) in the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden.

Then there is the spectre of the reigning G1 Champion S. hero Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}), whose five-length dismissal of Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in Sandown's G3 Brigadier Gerard S. last May was a performance consistent with what is required to win one of these. Among those who rate as “outsiders”, Sir Michael Stoute's fully-mature charge is the stand-out during an era that is favouring experience over youthful zest.

Raiders Take Aim At Beauvatier In The Lagardere…

   Sunday's action at ParisLongchamp begins with an open-looking renewal of the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, in which Philippe Allaire and Haras d'Etreham's TDN Rising Star Beauvatier (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) puts his unbeaten record on the line against the usual collection of British and Irish challengers. Stall seven is no problem, but seven overseas peers in attendance could be as he bids to show he is more than just a very effective group 3 bully.

There is no arguing with his string of precision strikes, starting with the edging out of the high-class Ramatuelle (Justify) in a Saint-Cloud showdown in May followed by an upstaging of the subsequent G3 Prix des Chenes winner Zabiari (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in Deauville's Listed Prix Roland de Chambure in July. Even his defeat of Evade (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the course-and-distance G3 Prix la Rochette in early September stands up well, but the trouble for Yann Barberot and co. is that he has no direct line to the likes of fellow TDN Rising Star Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) from Ballydoyle or the still-exciting Hannon trainee Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}).

Where Rosallion is concerned, it is a question of whether the version that ran away with Ascot's Listed Pat Eddery S. turns up or the one that flopped in third in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster. Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's homebred grandson of his remarkable broodmare Reem Three (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}) has been done no favours drawn in 10 in a race where that really matters, so he will have to be every bit as good as he looked when dismissing the subsequent impressive winners Al Musmak (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Alyanaabi (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) and Dancing Gemini (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) on the King George card.

“It looks like it's going to be fast ground out there which will be much more to his liking,” Hannon said. “We were very disappointed at Doncaster and we hope he is going to show what he can really do. They went very slow at Doncaster and he just didn't look like the horse we saw at Ascot or we've seen at home, so hopefully we will see him in a much better light.”

One of the live outsiders is Wathnan Racing's unbeaten Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sale S. scorer Native American (Ire) (Sioux Nation) from the Richard Fahey stable responsible for Wootton Bassett who captured this in 2010 and who is the sire of three runners in this renewal. “They would be similar horses and both undefeated going there,” the trainer said. “I think Wootton Bassett had won four before going there. He was slightly more experienced, but this horse will have improved a lot now. He's going to be a better three-year-old than two-year-old, but we've been really pleased with him since the Curragh.”

Another Turn-Up Due In The Marcel Boussac?

If there is one race on the Arc card that has proven difficult for favourites, it is the G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac with no market leaders successful since Ballydoyle's Ballydoyle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in 2015. Since then, there have been recorded returns of 8-1, 10-1, 25-1 and 28-1 which perhaps reflects the changing of the season and the flux in these juvenile fillies' fortunes as a result. As a rule, proven sequence winners like Newtown Anner Stud Farm's G2 May Hill S. and G3 Prestige S. winner Darnation (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) can find it hard, especially after having to travel, but with the sun shining like summer she could still have an edge despite her horror draw in 10 of 10.

Aidan O'Brien's sole favourite on the card is his representative here Opera Singer (Justify), who is unbeaten over this mile trip and who came into her own when taking The Curragh's G3 Flame of Tara S. in August. Drawn best of the main contenders in two, she carries the confidence of Ryan Moore. “This Justify half-sister to Hit It A Bomb and Brave Anna , both group one-winning juveniles, took a big step forward when winning at the Curragh last time. She looked a serious filly there and, although the likes of Darnation and Les Pavots clearly have to be respected, I reckon she has a big chance here to follow in the family footsteps,” he said.

Interestingly, the aforementioned Les Pavots (Ire) (No Nay Never) is a half-sister to a duo by Camelot (GB) that the Ballydoyle handler has recently had through his hands in Sir Dragonet (Ire) and Sir Lucan (Ire), but Haras d'Etreham and Craig Bernick's TDN Rising Star is not surprisingly more about speed and precocity than those middle-distance colts. After a string of creditable efforts over five and six furlongs, the Francis-Henri Graffard trainee is two-for-two over seven with a latest triumph in Deauville's G2 Prix du Calvados but on strict form has to improve again upped another furlong.

In general, winners of this tend to be already battle-hardened fillies, with Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in 2016 the last to come off a debut win and succeed. That augurs badly for Albert Frassetto's highly-regarded Ribaltagaia (Blame), but what the Gianluca Bietolini-trained Lyon Parilly winner lacks in experience she more than makes up for in star potential if the manner of her performance in that 6 3/4-furlong maiden is anything to go by.

Can Blue Rose Bloom Again?

Dominant in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on this fixture 12 months ago, Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) seemed an unstoppable force by the time she had extended her sequence in the G1 Prix de Diane in June. Now approaching the G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines, Yeguada Centurion SL's homebred has had her wings clipped to a degree with two defeats marring her otherwise admirable record. While the latter probably came as a result of insufficient stamina in the 12-furlong G1 Prix Vermeille, the prior reversal was marked by a sluggish display in the G1 Nassau S. over this 10-furlong trip.

Only fourth having been hampered in that Goodwood feature won by the more straightforward Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the dual Classic heroine is on a retrieval mission but Christopher Head is confident she is going to go out on a high in 2023. “I think that's pretty much going to be the end of the season for her,” he said. “She's going back to the 2,000, she's had a tremendous season and we can't wait to see her this weekend.”

With the possibility that Blue Rose Cen may fail to fire and Al Shira'aa Farms' G1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine Jannah Rose (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) being drawn in 12, this could open up. There was only a head between that Carlos Laffon-Parias-trained 3-year-old and Lumiere Rock (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) in the G2 Prix Alec Head at Deauville in August and that subsequently impressive G2 Blandford S. winner has the upper hand from stall three.

Princess Has a Question To Answer In The Abbaye…

Uncharacteristically tame defending her crown in the G1 Flying Five at The Curragh when last seen on Irish Champions Weekend, Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) looks to bounce back on her first tilt at the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines. Having dodged this burn-up 12 months ago in favour of a build-up to the Breeders' Cup, John Quinn is keen to have a go this time on the back of a season which can be seen as slightly underwhelming. That may be a harsh summary given that her current campaign has yielded a win in Goodwood's G2 King George S. and three placings at this level, but then she was such a force in 2022 anything other than a repeat was always going to engender a touch of deflation.

“She's doing fine and has been well since the Curragh,” Quinn said. “I've been happy with her the last 10 days. She did a little bit of work on Tuesday morning and moved well and Jason [Hart] was happy with her. She looks well, it didn't work out at the Curragh but Sunday is a different day.”

Of her draw in stall 14, he added, “She missed the break at the Curragh and slipped coming out and at least in 14 she has a bit of space where she can manoeuvre. I was hoping to get somewhere in the middle, like 10 or 12, so I'm not going to cry over 14. This is a nice flat track, she has good form on flat tracks and we're looking forward to Sunday.”

Of the 3-year-olds, The Rogues Gallery's Listed Scarbrough S. winner Rogue Lightning (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) is dangerously progressive albeit from the widest draw in 19. Others in the mix are the Flying Five hero Moss Tucker (Ire) (Excelebration {Ire}) and Clipper Logistics' TDN Rising Star Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) who needs to arrest a decline having failed to fire since opening her season with an impressive win in the G2 Temple S.

Rogue Lightning's trainer Tom Clover said of the post position, “It is a bit of a graveyard draw, but he's in really good form. We're not drawn too far from Highfield Princess, so hopefully that gives us some pace and he can run a really nice race.”

Kinross Poised For Foret Defence...

The draw is all-important in the G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret, particularly when there are 14 in the line-up as is the case this year, so Marc Chan's ever-reliable TDN Rising Star Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) has an immediate headstart in two as he bids for back-to-back wins in the seven-furlong contest. This has been dominated by British raiders since Make Believe (GB) prevailed for France in 2015 and one of his main rivals, the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp heroine Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}), has a nightmare scenario from stall 13. In nine is Kinross's 2022 1000 Guineas-winning compatriot Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}), who will need to go forward from there as she continues her road back.

Chan's racing manager Jamie McCalmont said of Kinross, “Knowing Frankie as long as I've known Frankie, he's not really one to become emotionally attached to horses but one thing is for sure, he really does like this horse and is fond of him. I remember last year by the time that race was run, the English crowd had got a fair few drinks in them and when they went back into the winner's enclosure the crowd were chanting 'oh Frankie Dettori'. It was pretty cool. Let's hope they are all singing again.”

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A colourbearer for Gousserie Racing and Ecuries Serge Stempniak, the five-for-five G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero ran out a three-quarter length winner of the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano when last seen in August.

“Why shouldn't I be optimistic? I'm coming in with a horse that's unbeaten,” said Rouget, who is seeking his second Arc after the success of Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in 2020.

“We know in any race anything can happen and we're coming to the end of the season, but he gets three kilos from the older horses, which is important. I'm optimistic in the sense that he goes into the race unbeaten and has done everything we have asked him to so far.

“It's been six weeks [since Deauville] and the six weeks have passed very quickly.”

The 2400-metre Arc will be the colt's first try over that trip and at that racecourse. In the lead up to Sunday's card, the weather also appears to be playing fair which is good news for several contenders.

“Obviously we can't be certain, but with the way he finishes his races and also the fact his sire was a winner over the distance gives us hope that he can stay,” he continued. “If the Prix du Jockey Club [French Derby] had been over a mile and a half, as it was in the past, he would have won that.

“Last year Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) was in the same place for us and he ran really well [finished second to Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB})]. I'm not worried about the course, he's an easy horse once he's settled in his race and there are plenty of horses that have won the Arc that also hadn't run at Longchamp before.

“I think it is going to be good for everyone, which is an interesting point about this year's race. In the past the race was often criticised for its heavy ground and the fact horses are tired, but this year I think the ground is going to suit everyone.”

Ground Key For Feed The Flame And Fantastic Moon

G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB})'s camp is hoping for a bit of ease in the ground. Pascal Bary is seeking his first Arc, and is also confident in his Jean-Louis Bouchard-owned colt, who was second to Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) in the G2 Prix Niel earlier this month.

“He's a very good horse, he has a very good temperament and he gets the mile and a half really, really well,” said Bary. “I think on the day of the Arc, the ground will be slightly different and he will be more comfortable on that ground.

“Anything a bit softer than the ground he encountered in the Jockey Club, Grand Prix de Paris and Prix Niel would be appreciated.”

The connections of G1 Deutsches Derby hero and Prix Niel scorer Fantastic Moon were pleased with their colt's Tuesday work at Munich and have not ruled out the Arc at this stage. Raced by the Liberty Racing Syndicate, Fantastic Moon would need to be supplemented.

“Fantastic Moon's work in Munich was very good,” said Liberty Racing Syndicate's Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten on X on Tuesday morning. “The trainer will have a discussion with the owners about the possibilities with an eye on ground conditions. The Arc is in any case again a real option, if the sun continues.”

Another expected supplement is the Coolmore partners' Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), who won the G1 St Leger for Aidan O'Brien in mid-September.

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A long-circled date on the calendar for the connections, the team is reportedly happy with Ace Impact's form going into the Arc as the general 7-2 favorite.

“We are very pleased with him since his run in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano,” said Pauline Chehboub, racing manager for her family's Gousserie Racing operation.

“He is a very unique horse and every time he comes to the races it feels like he loves it. We are very fortunate to be a part of this champion. His target since the French Derby, like Jean-Claude Rouget announced, is the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, so we follow the plan. He is the Arc favourite, unbeaten and his limits are unknown. The dream continues.”

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The winner is also the first runner for the dam, who was a stakes winner and was placed in the G3 Premio Regina Elena, GIII Noble Damsel S. and GIII Intercontinental S. Also connected to the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte-winning sire Blu Constellation (Ity) (Orpen) and the G1 Irish Champion S. and G1 Eclipse S.-winning sire Oratorio (Ire), her yearling daughter of Sottsass (Fr) is catalogued in the upcoming Tattersalls Ireland September Sale.

4th-Clairefontaine, €30,000, Cond, 8-18, 2yo, c/g, 8fT, 1:42.10, vs.
DE SICA (FR) (c, 2, Demarchelier {GB}–Stella Di Camelot {Ire}, by Camelot {GB}) Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, €22,100. O/B-White Birch Farm (FR); T-Jean-Claude Rouget. Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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