Alcantor Looks To Get Back On Track At Clairefontaine

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. Wednesday's Observations features a returning 'TDN Rising Star'.

13.25 Clairefontaine, Cond, €34,000, 2yo, 8fT
ALCANTOR (FR) (New Bay {GB}) is moved up to a mile from six furlongs by Andre Fabre, having lacked the raw pace to deal with the subsequent G3 Prix de Cabourg third Havana Cigar (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) at Chantilly a month ago. That is no surprise given that Baron Edouard De Rothschild's TDN Rising Star is a half-brother to the G2 Oppenheim-Union-Rennen winner Boscaccio (Ger) (Mount Nelson {GB}) and this potential confidence-booster against four fillies will hopefully see him reiterate what a class act he looked on debut over seven at Saint-Cloud in June.

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Kinross Denies Isaac Shelby To Register A Second Triumph In The Lennox

The field for Tuesday's G2 World Pool Lennox S. at Goodwood was reduced by a third after three of the nine original nominees were withdrawn, but nonetheless produced a thrilling finish in which Marc Chan's 2021 winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}–Ceilidh House {GB}, by Selkirk) defeated G1 Poule d'Essai de Poulains runner-up Isaac Shelby (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) to become the third dual winner of the seven-furlong contest.

Last term's G1 Prix de la Foret and G1 British Champions Sprint hero was swiftly into stride from the inside stall and raced along the rail in third before slipping to fourth at halfway. Shaken up at the cutaway with a quarter-mile remaining, the 10-11 favourite was ridden along to launch his bid entering the final furlong and kept on well under continued urging to withstand the persistent challenge of Isaac Shelby by a neck. The pair drew three lengths clear of the remainder headed by last term's G2 Vintage S. winner and 28-1 outsider Marbaan (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

“Kinross has spent a good chunk of the last 48 hours with his left fore in a bucket because he trod on a stone,” trainer Ralph Beckett said of last year's runner-up and GI Breeders' Cup Mile third. “He's got very, very thin soles and he feels every pinprick, but when he gets here he loves it. He should have won it last year, he got trapped in and got there too late, but what a horse to own and what a horse to train. He likes soft ground because he is out of a Selkirk mare, but over a mile he handles it quick and we'll take the same route [as last year] again. He'll go to York, he might go to Doncaster for the [G2] Park S. and I hope he'll go to Longchamp for the [G1 Prix de la] Foret, the [G1 British Champions] Sprint at Ascot, and Santa Anita [for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile]. He is a gelding, that's what he's there for and he's got to dance every dance. He could go to Hong Kong, particularly with his owner being Hong Kong-based, and there is an idea that that might happen as well. We might have to duck one of the races here to ensure he gets there at the end of the year, but it's a good problem to have.”

Frankie Dettori, who also annexed the 2006 renewal aboard Iffraaj (GB) (Zafonic), added, “Kinross is my ATM machine and he keeps bringing in the money every year. He is super consistent, he's versatile and seven furlongs is his favourite trip. All the credit goes to the Beckett team and this horse. He is a star. He's good for Marc [Chan], who is not here today, but I'm sure he is watching on World Pool. I think Marc wants to run him in Hong Kong at the end of the season, so fingers crossed for that. There are plenty of other targets, including the race he won last year at Ascot, and he loves the soft ground although he ran a great race in the Breeders' Cup on firm.”

Reflecting on the performance of Isaac Shelby, Brian Meehan said, “I am disappointed, obviously, but I'm very pleased with my horse and he ran all the way to the line. I don't know what the official distance is, but he's that close to a genuine Group 1 horse. Sean [Levey] was very happy and said it was a solid run. I guess the cutaway helped Kinross a little bit, but he's a wonderful Group 1 horse and we were not far away. My horse is a 3-year-old and relatively lightly raced. He is very good and only going to get better. We space his runs out, so I've got to talk to the owners and see what they'd like to do. I think the Foret is an obvious target, but we'll see.”

Charlie Fellowes was thrilled with the effort of Marbaan and commented, “We have been beaten by two proper Group 1 horses and I am delighted with that. I think Jamie [Spencer] felt, had the ground been just a bit quicker, we might have been able to get a little bit closer to them, but he's run a cracker. I have always felt that he is one of those horses who is better ridden with a little bit of confidence and a little bit of patience. He has plenty of entries and I need to have a look at the calendar.”

Pedigree Notes

Kinross, third in last month's G1 July Cup when last seen, is the fifth of six foals and one of four scorers produced by Listed Gillies Fillies' S. victress Ceilidh House (GB) (Selkirk), herself kin to the dam of G3 Solario S. winner and G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains runner-up First Selection (Spa) (Diktat {GB}). His dual stakes-winning second dam Villa Carlotta (GB) (Rainbow Quest), herself a daughter of multiple stakes-winning G3 Rockfel S. second Subya (GB) (Night Shift) from the family of G1 Irish Derby-winning sire Law Society (Alleged), is a half-sister to GI Hollywood Derby second Battle of Hastings (GB) (Royal Applause {GB}) and to the stakes-placed dam of South African Grade 1 performers Mljet (SAf) (Jet Master {SAf}) and Felix The Cat (SAf) (Black Minnaloushe).

 

Tuesday, Goodwood, Britain
WORLD POOL LENNOX S.-G2, £180,000, Goodwood, 8-1, 3yo/up, 7fT, 1:28.75, g/s.
1–KINROSS (GB), 131, g, 6, by Kingman (GB)
1st Dam: Ceilidh House (GB) (SW-Eng), by Selkirk
2nd Dam: Villa Carlotta (GB), by Rainbow Quest
3rd Dam: Subya (GB), by Night Shift
O-Marc Chan; B-Lawn Stud (GB); T-Ralph Beckett; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £102,078. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng & Fr, GISP-US, 25-9-1-3, $1,600,479. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Isaac Shelby (GB), 125, c, 3, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Kentucky Belle (Ire), by Heliostatic (Ire). (£92,000 Ylg '21 GOFFUK). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Elaine Chivers (GB); T-Brian Meehan. £38,700.
3–Marbaan (GB), 125, c, 3, Oasis Dream (GB)–Zahoo (Ire), by Nayef. O-Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum; B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd (GB); T-Charlie Fellowes. £19,368.
Margins: NK, 3, 3/4. Odds: 0.91, 2.50, 28.00.
Also Ran: Holguin (GB), Indestructible (Ire), Audience (GB). Scratched: Al Suhail (GB), Jumby (Ire), Pogo (Ire).

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Justify’s Heartland Impresses In ‘Rising Star’ Debut At Del Mar

When Hall of Famer Bob Baffert debuts a well-bred 2-year-old colt at Del Mar's summer meeting, the horse racing world pauses to pay attention. Taking money opposite the MyRacehorse entry of A Day to Remember (American Pharoah), Heartland (Justify) proved his mettle with a near last-to-first effort to become the newest 'TDN Rising Star'.

Off at 4-5 as the gates opened, the race looked like it may be over for the colt before it even began when Heartland ducked to the inside in the opening strides and nearly unseated jockey Juan Hernandez. Now racing next to last as the field carried on up front, the Baffert trainee never looked panicked, rating nicely through an opening quarter in :21.23 set by Slider (Jimmy Creed) and A Day to Remember racing in tandem. Still with just one horse beat into the far turn, Heartland began to make up ground, first overtaking the second flight of Invincible (Uncle Mo) and Head Lad (St Patrick's Day) before spinning through a wide gap along the fence to draw even with the pacesetters a furlong from the wire. Doing his best running late, Heartland cruised by Slider and opened up for the decisive victory before galloping out a mile ahead of the competition.

The seventh 'Rising Star' for second-crop sire Justify, who was a 'Rising Star' himself, Heartland will surely seek to follow in the footsteps of his half-brother, champion 2-year-old colt, MGISW, and young sire Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile). Sambuca Classica, herself a daughter of SW/MGISP In Her Glory, is also responsible for Exclamation Point (Concord Point), SP, $290,540, Anytime Magic (Fusaichi Pegasus), MSW, $202,945 and Uptown Twirl (Twirling Candy), MSW, $170,714. More recently, she foaled a yearling filly from the first crop of Eclipse Champion older dirt male Improbable (City Zip) but failed to report a foal this year when bred to Quality Road. She was part of the first book of mares to visit MGISW Life Is Good (Into Mischief) for a 2024 foal.

1st-Del Mar, $82,500, Msw, 7-29, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:03.20, ft, 2 lengths.
HEARTLAND, c, 2, Justify
                1st Dam: Sambuca Classica, by Cat Thief
                2nd Dam: In Her Glory, by Miswaki
                3rd Dam: Forever Waving, by Hoist the Flag
Sales History: $575,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $49,200. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-CHC INC., Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC; B-Chc Inc. (KY); T-Bob Baffert.

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Frankel’s Task Force A New TDN Rising Star At Salisbury

There was a buzz about Juddmonte's Task Force (GB) (Frankel {GB}), the 10th foal produced by unique dual Classic heroine Special Duty (GB) (Hennessy {GB}), as he went postward as the even-money favourite for Saturday evening's Starman At Tally Ho Stud British EBF Maiden S. at Salisbury. He proved why as he returned with a TDN Rising Star rosette after delivering a deeply promising 3 1/4-length success in the six-furlong contest.

Swiftly into stride from an outer stall, the G2 Champagne S. entry cut across to shadow the pace in a close-up second throughout the early stages. Inching ahead passing the two-furlong pole, the homebred quickened beyond recall soon after and kept on powerfully under mild coaxing to outclass Kingswood Flyer (Ire) (Sioux Nation).

“Mr [Ralph] Beckett had me in Friday morning just to sit on him and to get a feel,” explained winning rider Rhys Clutterbuck. “He did a quick bit of work and he felt special. Mr Beckett told me he was very professional out of the gate, so I shouldn't have any problems getting a nice position. I got him into a nice position so that I was able to see how the race developed and he put the race to bed quite nicely. He probably wants seven furlongs in time and, ideally, it would have been more in our favour if there had been a little bit more rain. I think he'd like it softer, but he handled that [good] ground very well today.”

 

Pedigree Notes
Special Duty, who captured the G1 Cheveley Park S. and G2 Prix Robert Papin and was second in the G1 Prix Morny before being twice promoted from second to first by the stewards in the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, has yet to hit the heights as a broodmare with her best progeny being the listed scorer Elegant Verse (GB) by Frankel's sire Galileo (Ire). Also responsible for the Listed Prix Yacowlef runner-up South Bank (Tapit), she is a daughter of Quest To Peak (Distant View) who is also the second dam of the operation's GI Breeders' Cup Mile and G2 Vintage S.-winning sire Expert Eye (GB) (Acclamation {GB}).

The third dam is the Listed Prix Melisande winner and G3 Prix de Psyche runner-up Viviana (Nureyev), who produced Quest To Peak's seven-times grade I-winning full-sister Sightseek (Distant View) and the GI Yellow Ribbon S. winner Tates Creek (Rahy) and the dam of the four-times grade III winner and GI Clark S.-placed Fulsome (Into Mischief). Also from the family of the champion sire Chief's Crown, Special Duty's yearling filly is by Sea The Stars (Ire), while her colt foal is a full-brother to Task Force.

2nd-Salisbury, £10,000, Mdn, 7-29, 2yo, 6fT, 1:16.88, gd.
TASK FORCE (GB) (c, 2, Frankel (GB)
     1st Dam: Special Duty (GB) (MG1SW-Eng & G1SW-Fr, $1,070,938), by Hennessy
     2nd Dam: Quest To Peak, by Distant View
     3rd Dam: Viviana, by Nureyev
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $6,939. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Ralph Beckett. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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