Tag: Shared News Europe

Nathaniel’s Desert Crown Storms Into Derby Contention

The G1 Cazoo Derby just got much more interesting after TDN Rising Star Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}–Desert Berry {GB}, by Green Desert) injected much-needed adrenaline into the mix by registering an impressive success in Thursday's G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante S. at York. Sir Michael Stoute may have tried to hide the light of Saeed Suhail's once-raced colt under a bushel, describing him as “workmanlike” at home, but the news about him had nevertheless spread like wildfire through Newmarket and now we know why. Impressive enough on his winning debut in the extended mile maiden at Nottingham in November won in recent times by Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), he was out of the ordinary here tackling proven group winners after a glitch in his spring training.

Switched off towards the rear by Richard Kingscote, the 7-2 joint-favourite was moved to the front with minimal encouragement passing two out and despite veering right stamped his class on affairs. At the line, the Strawberry Fields Stud-bred 280,000gns Book 2 purchase had 3 1/4 lengths to spare over Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), with Bluegrass (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) offering Ballydoyle a line into the form 2 1/2 lengths further behind in third. In doing so, he drew Stoute level with the late Sir Henry Cecil on a joint-record seven winners of this prestigious Derby trial. “He is possibly still a little bit green, but he's a very relaxed individual and I don't see a mile and a half being a problem,” the winning rider said. “I moved him a little earlier than I would have ideally liked, but he was shrewd. I was in front plenty long enough and we were just rolling around a little in the finish. He's had a little shout on the way to the start, so you'd like to think there could be more to come.”

Following on from Galileo's rampant week, his son Nathaniel has helped to put the Derby even more out of the grasp of any sire not directly imbued with his rarefied genes. Either the sire or sire's sire of the top seven quoted at present, the late Coolmore great could come to dominate the 2022 Blue Riband like no other year and if it is Desert Crown on top of them all it will surprise nobody after this. Not even his trainer, who has made choosing his words carefully an art form, couldn't water this one down. “He surprised me actually,” he said. “You'd have to be very happy with that performance–he was very professional, as it's only his second race. I wasn't confident, as we only just got him up to a race after a minor setback in February. We'll find out if he stays at Epsom, but I'd be very hopeful it wouldn't be a problem. His temperament isn't a problem, he's a very relaxed horse.”

“He has to go there with a very sound chance. He is a beautifully-balanced horse, so hopefully he'll handle that aspect as well,” Stoute added. “That was a big leap up. He was impressive in his maiden, but as he got behind with the hold-up and behind schedule we had to do what we did and he didn't let me down. Other than Workforce, all my Dante horses had had a previous race early in the season so that was very encouraging.”

Royal Patronage is not certain to go to Epsom according to Mark Johnston. “You're never delighted with second, but it's nice to be back in the game,” he said. “I'd like to watch it back, as just as we started to make our move it got a little bit tight in front of him. He wasn't exactly checked, but maybe the winner got a run on us, I'm not sure. We ran in a mile in the Guineas, having previously planned to come here and go to Epsom. We talked ourselves into a mile for the Guineas and the one thing we know now is that's wrong. We've got lots to think about regarding where he goes next. It could be France, but it could still be Epsom.”

The winner's dam, who captured a mile maiden on Lingfield's Polytrack, was bred exclusively to Archipenko until Desert Crown, with her best performer to date being the G3 Premier Cup winner Archie McKellar (GB), known in Hong Kong as Flying Thunder. Her 2018 colt Cu Chulainn (GB) was a 425,000gns purchase by the Hong Kong Jockey Club at the Book 2 Sale as a result of his full-brother's exploits, but failed to make his mark for Brian Meehan.

This is a Juddmonte family, with the third dam Binary (GB) (Rainbow Quest) responsible for the operation's prolific producer Binche (Woodman). She is responsible for the G1 Prince of Wales's S. hero Byword (GB) (Peintre Celebre) and the four-times grade I-winning Proviso (GB) (Dansili {GB}). When bred to Galileo's Frankel (GB), she threw the G2 Prix Eugene Adam scorer Finche (GB) and the recent Listed Prix Lord Seymour winner Baratti (GB). Desert Berry's 2-year-old filly is by Al Kazeem (GB), while she also has a yearling son of Study of Man (Ire).

Thursday, York, Britain
AL BASTI EQUIWORLD DUBAI DANTE S.-G2, £175,000, York, 5-12, 3yo, 10f 56yT, 2:09.46, gd.
1–DESERT CROWN (GB), 128, c, 3, by Nathaniel (Ire)
     1st Dam: Desert Berry (GB), by Green Desert
     2nd Dam: Foreign Language, by Distant View
     3rd Dam: Binary (GB), by Rainbow Quest
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. (280,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Saeed Suhail; B-Strawberry Fields Stud (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute; J-Richard Kingscote. £99,243. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $128,524. *1/2 to Archie McKellar (GB) (Archipenko), GSW-HK, $513,497. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Royal Patronage (Fr), 128, c, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Shaloushka (Ire), by Dalakhani (Ire). (62,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Highclere Thoroughbred Racing – Woodland Walk; B-Emma Capon Bloodstock (FR); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston. £37,625.
3–Bluegrass (Ire), 128, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Quiet Reflection (GB), by Showcasing (GB).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-D Smith,Mrs J Magnier,M Tabor,Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. £18,830.
Margins: 3 1/4, 2HF, 2. Odds: 3.50, 3.50, 7.00.
Also Ran: Dark Moon Rising (Ire), Kingmax (Ire), White Wolf (Ire), El Bodegon (Ire), Magisterial (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

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Mastercraftsman’s Lilac Road Swoops For Middleton Triumph

Jon and Julia Aisbitt's homebred 4-year-old filly Lilac Road (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}–Lavender Lane {Ire} {MGSP-Fr}, by Shamardal), whose lone stakes success came in last term's Listed Upavon Fillies' S. at Salisbury, went postward at odds of 15-2 for Thursday's G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Fillies' S. at York and displayed a willing attitude at the end of the extended 10-furlong test to continue William Haggas' fine run of form at the Knavesmire venue. She had closed last term with a second to the reopposing Ville de Grace (GB) (Le Havre {Ire}) tackling 10 furlongs in October's G3 Pride S. at Newmarket and finished behind that rival once again when fifth to Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) on seasonal return in last month's G2 Dahlia S. down to nine furlongs back at Headquarters. The eventual winner adopted patient tactics behind the leaders along the rail in fourth through the early fractions, but slipped to fifth rounding the home turn. Stirred into action approaching the quarter-mile marker, she quickened smartly to go second entering the final furlong and was ridden out in the closing stages to deny the game pacesetter Aristia (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) by a half length nearing the line for a career high.

“I was half-expecting her to win, to be honest, as she ran well the last day,” admitted winning rider Tom Marquand. “We've started dropping her out in her races and it is very hard to come from behind at Newmarket. She relaxed into this today, we didn't go very fast and it worked in our favour. When I got off her at Newmarket I said to William [Haggas] if she stays on this path she'd get a mile-and-a-half, but she's clearly a filly with lots of talent. It was William's idea to drop her out at Salisbury [last year]. He told me to drop her out last and it'd be his fault if she got beaten. It's been the making of her and, as a jockey, you always want to give horses the best chance and basically William made her in one day. She's building up now and you'd have to say that was her best effort.”

Reflecting on the performance of runner-up Aristia, rider Sean Levey added, “She ran a cracker,” he said. “I think maybe in the paddock she wasn't as fully furnished as the rest of them and she's not quite there in her coat, so we'll take second today. I believe she'll improve as her whole family improved with age. She's faced good opposition today and has run quite nicely. She got a little bit tired before the line and she'll definitely improve.”

Lilac Road is the first of four foals and one of two winners out of G2 Prix de Malleret and G2 Prix de la Nonette third Lavender Lane (Ire) (Shamardal), herself a half-sister to G2 Prix Greffulhe winner Sumbal (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and Listed Grand Prix du Nord victrix Lily Passion (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). The February-foaled chestnut's second dam Alix Road (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}), who ran third in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary, is a half-sister to stakes-winning G3 Prix de Guiche runner-up Fils de Viane (Fr) (Kadounor {Fr}) and hails from the family of G1 Prix d'Ispahan runner-up and MGSW sire Gunboat Diplomacy (Fr) (Dominion {GB}). Lavender Lane has a yearling colt by Camelot (GB) and a weanling colt by Sottsass (Fr) to come.

Thursday, York, Britain
AL BASTI EQUIWORLD DUBAI MIDDLETON FILLIES' S.-G2, £140,000, York, 5-12, 4yo/up, f, 10f 56yT, 2:11.50, gd.
1–LILAC ROAD (IRE), 128, f, 4, by Mastercraftsman (Ire)
1st Dam: Lavender Lane (Ire) (MGSP-Fr), by Shamardal
2nd Dam: Alix Road (Fr), by Linamix (Fr)
3rd Dam: Life On the Road (Ire), by Persian Heights (GB)
1ST GROUP WIN. O/B-Jon & Julia Aisbitt (IRE); T-William Haggas; J-Tom Marquand. £79,394. Lifetime Record: 12-4-2-1, $210,655. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Aristia (Ire), 128, f, 4, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Aloisi (GB), by Kalanisi (Ire). 1ST GROUP TYPE. (85,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Mrs E Roberts; B-Rathasker Stud (IRE); T-Richard Hannon. £30,100.
3–Thunder Kiss (Ire), 128, m, 5, Night of Thunder (Ire)–Desert Snow (GB), by Teofilo (Ire). O/B-Newtown Anner Stud Farm (IRE); T-Ger Lyons. £15,064.
Margins: HF, 2 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00.
Also Ran: Ville de Grace (GB), Noon Star, Forbearance (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Verry Elleegant Joins Graffard for Euro Campaign

G1 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) will join Francis Graffard in France with a view towards targeting the major races in Europe this season, the connections of the Australian ace have announced.

An 11-time Group 1 winner, Verry Elleegant has netted her connections over £8 million and was described by Chris Waller, the man who managed her glittering career in Australia, as an “honour” to be associated with.

The statement from the ownership group was released on Thursday, and it read, “Being part of a champion racehorse is not just an enormous privilege but also a huge responsibility.

“We take this seriously and in the last couple of weeks have given further thought to what constitutes the right plan for our beautiful mare. We know she's a world-class stayer but we expect her to be weighted out of the Cups and there are limited options for her domestically.

“After much deliberation, we came to the realisation that if we want to campaign her in Europe, we need to do it properly and send her to be trained and prepared in the Northern Hemisphere.”

A tilt at the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is understood to be the main reason for sending Verry Elleegant to Graffard this season.

The statement added, “We're incredibly excited about the journey ahead and showcasing her on the world stage. We know win, lose or draw she'll do us, Australia and of course New Zealand proud.”

Graffard shared his excitement of taking over the training of Verry Elleegant on Twitter.

He said, “It is a huge honour to be entrusted with the 2021 Melbourne Cup winner and Champion race mare Verry Elleegant. I am conscious that I will be standing on the shoulders of a giant in taking her on from Chris Waller, who has done such an impeccable job with her.”

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Marlinka’s Finale Comes Out at Newmarket

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features the final foal out of Marlinka (GB) (Marju {Ire}).

4.45 York, Mdn, £20,000, 2yo, 6fT
UBETTABEQUICK (IRE) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), the joint top-priced filly at the Arqana Deauville October Yearling Sale at €350,000, debuts for Martin Webb Racing and the Nigel Tinkler stable who teamed up with the 2020 G2 Flying Childers S. scorer Ubettabelieveit (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). Another pricey yearling purchase in the race is Amo Racing's similarly unraced filly Queen Olly (Ire) (No Nay Never), a David Loughnane-trained relative of Tiger Moth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who fetched €300,000 at Goffs Orby.

 

7.10 Newmarket, Mdn, £10,000, 3yo, 10fT
SPECIAL ENVOY (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was a private purchase by Juddmonte for 850,000gns at the 2020 Book 1 Sale, with the Elite Racing Club having opted to buy him back at 1million gns the previous day. A half-brother to the champion sprinter Marsha (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and the dual Group 3-winning Judicial (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), the John and Thady Gosden-trained bay is the final foal out of Marlinka (GB) (Marju {Ire}).

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