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.

Facteur Cheval just denies Namur in the Dubai Turf sponsored by DP World.

A French winner for Jerome Reynier and Maxime Guyon. pic.twitter.com/dC3Nw7VZSt

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 30, 2024

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Last seen finishing fifth in the Kings Plate S. won by familiar face Paramount Prince (Society's Chairman)–where the runner-up here again played bridesmaid–and gone since then, Touch'n Ride was content to track from fifth in a packed field of 14 as the speed went on its way. Cruising along in the second flight among cover down the backstretch, Kazushi Kimura was forced to wait for room behind a three-strong wall of leaders at the half-mile, but found his seam entering the top of the stretch. Locking horns with Elysian Fields as she bravely fought off his challenge, and the pair drifting far into the course midway home, it took the length of the stretch and a photo to separate them, but succeed he did, beating her by a nose. Paramount Prince faded to next to last while Prince of Wales S. runner-up Kaukokaipuu (Mr Speaker) finished seventh. A rider's claim of foul from Sahin Civac, aboard Elysian Fields, afterwards was disallowed by the stewards.

“It feels amazing,” said Kimura, who notched his first win in the series. “I've always tried to win the Triple Crown and I've finally made it. Last week, I got on him in the morning and he was a very nice horse on the turf. I was quite comfortable staying behind Paramount Prince, the King's Plate winner [during the race].”

Added conditioner Layne Giliforte: “It's nerve-racking when you watch a horse get herded out like that…I had a great feeling going into the race and for him to come through the way he did and Kazushi to give him the ride that he did, it's fantastic.”

With his victory here, Touch'n Ride continuous something of a familial tradition, joining elder brother Neepawa (Scat Daddy) as a winner of the Breeders' S. He's also a half-brother to SP Niigon's Spin (Hard Spun) as well as a 2023 half-sister by American Triple Crown hero, Justify. Niigon's Touch went to Twirling Candy for 2024.

#4 TOUCH'N RIDE ($10.20) battled with Elysian Field in the final furlong, but narrowly bested that foe to win the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes at @WoodbineTB!

Touch'n Ride was piloted by @kazushi0096 for trainer Layne Giliforte and Chiefswood Stables Limited. pic.twitter.com/1lXfDk4Zxl

— TVG (@TVG) October 1, 2023

Sunday, Woodbine Racetrack
BREEDERS' S., C$403,000, Woodbine, 10-1, (C), 3yo, 1 1/2mT, 2:27.56, fm.
1–TOUCH'N RIDE, 126, g, 3, by Candy Ride (Arg)
          1st Dam: Niigon's Touch (SW, $204,615), by Niigon
          2nd Dam: Laser Touch, by Touch Gold
          3rd Dam: Laser Hawk, by Silver Hawk
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Chiefswood Stables Limited (ON); T-Layne S. Giliforte; J-Kazushi Kimura. C$240,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-1, $238,513. *1/2 to Neepawa (Scat Daddy), SW, $307,222.
2–Elysian Field, 123, f, 3, Hard Spun–Elysian, by Smart Strike. ($50,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT; $70,000 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Team Valor International and Gary Barber; B-Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (ON); T-Mark E. Casse. C$80,000.
3–Twowaycrossing, 126, g, 3, English Channel–Double Guns Girl, by Langfuhr. 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B/T-Roger L. Attfield (ON). C$40,000.
Margins: NO, 4, 3/4. Odds: 4.10, 3.55, 51.65.
Also Ran: Philip My Dear, Tito's Calling, Wickenheiser, Kaukokaipuu, British Artillery, Tiburon, Sammy Stone, Simcoe, Hemlo Gold, Paramount Prince, Midnight in Malibu. Scratched: Enjoythesilent, Greystone, Legal Catch, Over and Ollie.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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With the white-hot Sahin Civaci at the controls, Elysian Field broke without incident from her low draw and raced three back on the fence about midfield and six lengths off the lead as 125-1 Friends for Life (Silent Name {Jpn}) and Fashionably Fab (Silent Name {Jpn}) matched motors up front. Favored Ticker Tape Home (Medaglia d'Oro), impressive winner of the Fury S. June 10 and trying a synthetic route for the first time, found the perfect stalking spot from third. Content to bide his time inside and wait for the runs to come, Civaci slipped Elysian Field some rein as they raced around the turn and the duo loomed a threat as they advanced, but Ticker Tape Home had gone for home three wide at the five-sixteenths and dared them to catch her. But reel her in they did, as Elysian Field rolled up to wrest command about a furlong out, threw her ears in the air and got to playing a bit as if the job was done, but was across the line safely clear. The final time was fractionally faster than that clocked by the colts in the Plate Trial one race earlier.

Dismissed at odds of 47-1 for her debut over the Saratoga turf last August for trainer Bruce Brown, Elysian Field flew home to be second and would have trained on following her private purchase, but for a health scare. Fifth, but placed eighth via DQ on the turf at Gulfstream Jan. 8, she filled the same spot going two turns on the synth in Hallandale Feb. 5. The chestnut graduated by 3 1/4 lengths in her first local try over 6 1/2 furlongs Apr. 30 and was four lengths adrift of Ticker Tape Home in second when last seen in the seven-furlong Fury.

“We bought her a month or two after her first start at Saratoga and we had her here for about two days and she went into the clinic for about a week, almost a little touch and go, colic,” said Casse. “I think it took its toll and we brought her home and she's got bigger and stronger. She's beautiful.”

Next up could be a date with the boys in the Aug. 20 King's Plate, a race won by Lexie Lou en route to Horse of the Year honors eight years ago.

“I want to talk to Barry Irwin from Team Valor, but she's a big, strong filly and I'm extremely happy how we get a month between the Oaks and the King's Plate, so that's important,” said Casse. “Three weeks is tough, so now we get four weeks, and I don't see why she wouldn't.”

Pedigree Notes:

Elysian Field is the 99th worldwide black-type winner for the highly reliable Hard Spun and her broodmare sire Smart Strike–whose daughters are now responsible for a remarkable 165 black-type winners around the world–needs little introduction, especially north of the border. Anderson Farms is also the breeder of Hard Spun's Grade I winner Hard Not to Love.

David Anderson's operation acquired Elysian Field's three-time winning dam for $100,000 in foal to Kantharos at the 2018 Keeneland January Sale and she produced three foals before being sold for $35,000 in foal to Collected at Keeneland November in 2021. The mare dropped a filly in 2022 and a filly by Union Rags this season, both in Kentucky.

Elysian Field's female family includes this year's GI Preakness S. hero National Treasure (Quality Road), SW Ultimate (Speightstown) and recent 'TDN Rising Star' Pirate (Omaha Beach).

#3 ELYSIAN FIELD ($13.60) kicks home down the stretch to win the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks @WoodbineTB for trainer @markcasse and owners @TeamValor and Gary Barber. Perfect setup from jockey Sahin Civaci. Congratulations to the connections of this filly on a hard-fought victory! pic.twitter.com/xGlTXxUDyG

— TVG (@TVG) July 23, 2023

Sunday, Woodbine
WOODBINE OAKS PRESENTED BY BUDWEISER, C$503,000, Woodbine, 7-23, (C), 3yo, f, 1 1/8m (AWT), 1:49.83, ft.
1–ELYSIAN FIELD, 121, f, 3, by Hard Spun
                1st Dam: Elysian, by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Initiation, by Deputy Minister
                3rd Dam: Proposal, by Mt. Livermore
($50,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT; $70,000 2yo '22 OBSOPN).
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Team Valor International and Gary
Barber; B-Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (ON); T-Mark E. Casse;
J-Sahin Civaci. C$300,000. Lifetime Record: 6-2-2-0, $306,692.
2–Wickenheiser, 121, f, 3, Lemon Drop Kid–Game (Fr), by
Montjeu (Ire). ($245,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE.
O-Clay Scherer, Al & Bill Ulwelling and Kevin Attard; B-Sean
Fitzhenry (ON); T-Kevin Attard. C$100,000.
3–Fortyfiveseventy, 121, f, 3, Perfect Timber–Avall Tale, by
Tale of Ekati. ($4,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT). O/T-Barbara J. Minshall;
B-Charles Fipke (ON). C$50,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 3/4, 1HF. Odds: 5.80, 6.35, 50.80.
Also Ran: Me and My Shadow, Ticker Tape Home, Big Brass Bed, Flysofreeashleeb, Courtly Ro, Fashionably Fab, Tito's Calling, Collect Dattt, Delphia, Great Kate, Friends for Life.

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Sioux Nation Colt Makes The Cut At Gulfstream

Rockingham Ranch, Talla Racing, LLC and David Bernsen's Behind Enemy Lines (GB) (Sioux Nation) ran like a 1-9 favourite should to give his Coolmore sire his fifth stakes winner and first Stateside in the Cutler Bay S. at Gulfstream on Saturday (video).

Trained by Jack Sisterson, the son of the once-raced Autumn Snow (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was bred by The Brigadier Partnership. An 88,000gns weanling when picked up by Alex Elliott from Barton Stud at the Tattersalls November Foal Sale, the bay made 90,000gns from J B Bloodstock when re-offered by The Castlebridge Consignment as a Tattersalls October Book 2 yearling. Sent through the ring yet again, this time he did not meet his reserve as a €173,228 Goffs Dubai Breeze-Up Sale buyback (breeze video). As noted by colleague Alan Carasso, Behind Enemy Lines is the second stakes winner to emerge from the inaugural Goffs Dubai Breeze-Up Sale.

Unplaced for Justin Casse and Joseph O'Brien at the Curragh in August, he put it all together over the Dundalk synthetic to win by 4 3/4 lengths in January. Purchased privately by these connections, the Cutler Bay was his American bow.

The second foal, first runner and first winner out of his dam, Behind Enemy Lines is followed by the colt Looking Bere (Fr) (Le Brivido {Fr}), who is catalogued as lot 247 in the upcoming Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale by Dolmen Bloodstock, and a yearling half-brother by Whitecliffsofdover. Second dam Epic Similie (GB) (Lomitas {GB}) was placed in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, while her Manduro (Ger) half-brother Ultra (Ire) won that race in 2015 before standing under the Darley banner in France. Eclipse champion Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is also under the third dam.

Although his eldest foals are just 3-year-olds, Sioux Nation has sired 58 winners from 106 runners worldwide (55%). Stateside, he has three runners and Behind Enemy Lines is his first winner (33%) among that trio.

How Sweet The Sound

Amazing Grace (Ger) (Protectionist {Ger}) is no stranger to black-type victories, and, bearing the Moyglare Stud silks, secured a half-length victory in the GIII Orchid S. in Florida on Saturday (video) for trainer Christophe Clement.

Profiled in Emma Berry's Seven Days column earlier this week, the German-bred is starting to pay back her €850,000 Arqana December purchase price. Bred by Dr. Christoph Berglar, she won the G2 Diana Trial in 2021 and the G2 T. von Zastrow Stutenpreis last term. Also Group 1-placed in the G1 Preis von Europa, Amazing Grace is the second foal out of German stakes winner Amabelle (Ger) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). Her dam foaled her winning full-sister, Ad Astra (Ger), the year after producing the Orchid winner, while her 3-year-old full-brother, Astaire (Ire), has yet to race. Amabelle's juvenile has already been named Alvorada (Ger) (Gleneagles {Ire}), and she has a yearling filly by the 2014 G1 Melbourne Cup hero.

From limited crops, Protectionist has sired 33 winners from 64 runners worldwide (51%). His other stakes winner besides Amazing Grace is G3 Bavarian Classic hero Lambo (Ger). In America, he's been represented by two runners total, and Saturday's winner is his only scorer.

An Island Of Breathing Space

The third and final stakes-winning European to prevail at Gulfstream on Saturday was Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Steven Rocco, and Tango Uniform Racing's Breath Away (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), who scooped the Sanibel Island S. by 2 1/2 lengths (video).

Part of the Highgate Stud breeding programme, she caught the eye of Canirola Bloodstock as a 92,000gns foal at Tattersalls November, and blossomed into a 230,000gns yearling at that venue's October Yearling Sale Book 1 when offered by Taroka Stud. Stephen Hillen was the buyer that day. A winner of her Gulfstream debut back in January, she missed by only a nose in an allowance optional claimer a month later for trainer Christophe Clement.

A full-sister to GIII Wilshire S. heroine Simply Breathless (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), Breath Away is a daughter of Darling Grace (GB) (Nayef), who scored her lone victory as a 3-year-old. Her latest foals are fillies by Advertise (GB) and Bated Breath, foaled in 2021 and 2022, respectively. G1 Falmouth S. heroine Giofra (GB) (Dansili {GB}) is under the third dam.

From just 29 runners in the U.S., Juddmonte's Bated Breath has 17 checks in the winners' column (58%). He's firing in stakes winners at a rate of 38% (11 from 29 runners), with his leading light the 2016 filly Viadera (GB), heroine of the GI Matriarch S. at Del Mar. She is supported by GII Edgewood S. heroine Gift List (GB), the aforementioned Grade III winner Simply Breathless, and Tezzaray (GB), successful in the GIII Jimmy Durante S. and fourth in the GI Del Mar Oaks.

Emperor Of The Mill

Team Valor International's Tuddenham Mill (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) eked out a head victory in a maiden special weight at Tampa Bay Downs on Sunday. Third in a pair of starts for Hankers and Maccas and trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy, Tuddenham Mill switched to the ownership of Team Valor for start three and was eventually transferred Stateside. The 3-year-old was bred by the Imperial Crown Syndicate.

A £29,000 Tattersalls Ireland September yearling, Tuddenham Mill was picked up by Troy Steve Bloodstock from The Castlebridge Consignment. His dam, who won as a juvenile and is a full-sister to GI Suburban H. hero and sire Frost Giant (Giant's Causeway), has a 2-year-old filly by Magna Grecia (Ire) still to come.

Coolmore Stud stallion Holy Roman Emperor sports 25 winners from 49 runners in America (51%). Besides his 11 stakes horses in that jurisdiction, six of his progeny have won stakes (12%), led by top-drawer winners Glorious Empire (Ire), Rockemperor (Ire), and Rich Tapestry (Ire).

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“La Petite Coco will always be special to me and the team at Athassel House as our first Group 1 winner,” said Twomey, who will consign the 2022 G1 Yorkshire Oaks runner-up. “She is a good-looking filly with a wonderful temperament and a huge pedigree, and she tries her heart out every time she runs.”

Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony added, “The Team Valor-owned La Petite Coco is another wonderful Group 1 winning filly coming to this year's Tattersalls December Sale. Similar to Alcohol Free (Ire) and Saffron Beach (Ire), she combines outstanding ability with looks and pedigree and she will be another highlight of our new Sceptre Sessions which are already shaping up to be a bit special.”

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Todd Pletcher will be shooting for his fifth victory in this event (Curalina-2016, Stopchargingmaria-2015, Authenticity-2013, Awesome Maria-2011) should their match up here return in her favor, tying his record with the legendary H. Allen Jerkens for most Shuvee wins as conditioner. Steven Asmussen looks to add his name to the race's annuals for the first time after most recently saddling She's a Julie (Elusive Quality) to a third place finish in 2019. Both Clairiere and Malathaat ran career high Beyers of 106 last out in the GI Ogden Phipps, and are the horses to beat here, nearly guaranteeing that history of some kind will be made on Spa Sunday.

To their inside, and hoping to play spoiler, is the aptly named Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) for trainer Kenny McPeek, who's riding into the race on the back of a fruitful summer season. The grey has faced Malathaat on three occasions and never been in winning contention in any of those races, but she's the third millionaire in this field, and those purses didn't come without effort. A winner of Turfway Park's Apr. 2 Latonia S. over the synthetic and second last out June 25 in the Lady Jaqueline S. at Thistledown behind MGISP Army Wife (Declaration of War), Crazy Beautiful will be trying for her eighth lifetime win here. Former $40,000 claimer Exotic West (Hard Spun) rounds the field from the rail and faces a tall task having never run a number anywhere close to the divisional leaders on her outside.

'Magic' in Del Mar's Cougar II Marathon
MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm's GISP Tizamagician (Tiznow) makes his 5-year-old bow while trying to win the GIII Cougar II S. for the second year in a row where the 'Turf Meets the Surf.' Super consistent Dicey Mo Chara (GB) (Adaay {Ire}) will try to make his first dirt marathon a winning one for his eagle-eyed connections of Red Baron's Barn LLC and Rancho Temescal LLC and conditioner Leonard Powell.

Salty Graded Fields North of the Border
It's Kentucky-vs-European-breds in the turfy GII Dance Smartly S. at 1 1/16-miles at Woodbine. The G1SP Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}), a 695,000gns purchase by Tracy Farmer from last year's Tattersalls December Mares Sale, heads the field carrying solid European form including two black-type wins as a juvenile, though both at shorter distances, as well as a placing in Group 1 company in the English 1000 Guineas last year.

The formidable partnership of Team Valor International and Gary Barber will try to circle the field with their two classy fillies, namely GISP Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}) and French stakes-winner Keyflower (Fr) (Kheleyf). Charles Fipke's Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown) and the Josie Carroll-trained Seasons (Tapit) round out the Kentucky-bred contingent, while Ontario-bred horse-for-course Munnyfor Ro (Munnings) will try to parlay her liking for the track into her first seasonal win.

Before the turf fillies get rolling, the synthetic sprinters will shine in the GIII Hendrie S. with heavy favorite Boardroom (Commissioner) slated to take most of the action at the ticket windows. Familiar foes Amalfi Coast (Tapizar), conditioned by Mark Casse, and Artie's Princess (We Miss Artie) return to continue the rivalry triangle, and MGSP La Libertee (Consitution) will try to out finish her Casse stablemate.

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“My thought was just to go to the lead since she looked like the only speed in the race,” said winning jockey Paco Lopez. “Todd Pletcher told me to do whatever I felt comfortable doing. She jumped a little at the break and didn't break well, but I was able to get to the rail and make the lead pretty easily. I saw Joe Bravo [aboard runner-up Radio Days] pressing us at the three-eighths, but my filly had too much left. She was very strong after we were able to get away with a slow opening half and she just took off when [Radio Days] came to us. This is a very nice filly.”

Purchased privately by Team Valor following a runner-up debut effort at Churchill last May, Green Up was transferred to the barn of Todd Pletcher and returned to the races with a 6 3/4-length graduation at Gulfstream Mar. 13. Tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' for that maiden victory, she added a four-length victory in an Apr. 21 Hallandale allowance last time out.

“She just shipped in this morning from Saratoga,” said Pletcher assistant Anthony Sciametta. “That's where she has been working. She's a nice filly. Even if the field had stayed intact, she would have been very tough to beat. Todd will make the decision on whether she goes to the GIII Monmouth Oaks or not. She's very talented.”

Green Up is out of an unraced half-sister to the dam of GIII Philip H. Iselin S. winner Just Call Kenny (Jump Start). Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

BOILING SPRINGS S., $95,000, Monmouth, 7-3, 3yo, f, 1m 70y, 1:40.93, ft.
1–GREEN UP, 116, f, 3, by Upstart
                1st Dam: Green Punch, by Two Punch
                2nd Dam: Green Jeans, by Green Dancer
                3rd Dam: Duds, by Ack Ack
($10,000 Ylg '20 EASOCT). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Team Valor
International, LLC; B-Althea Richards (VA); T-Todd A. Pletcher;
J-Paco Lopez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, $130,760.
2–Radio Days, 117, f, 3, Gun Runner–Remembered, by Sky
Mesa. ($750,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Joseph Allen LLC; B-Hinkle
Farms (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III. $20,000.
3–Captainsdaughter, 118, f, 3, Midshipman–Joan's Rose, by
Service Stripe. O/B-Ocean View Stable (NY); T-Russell J. Cash.
$10,000.
Margins: 5 3/4, 3, 2HF. Odds: 1.50, 0.40, 21.30.
Also Ran: Alittleloveandluck. Scratched: Gina Romantica, Love to Run, Morning Matcha.

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“She ran a good race in the [G3] Prix de la Grotte and that is good form as we saw this last Sunday in the [G1 Poule d'Essai des] Pouliches,” said winning trainer Romain Le Dren Doleuze. “I was confident beforehand as I knew that she would love the extra furlong and the faster ground. She has an entry for next month's [G1] Prix de Diane and I have an idea as to what we should do next, but I will talk with the owners before revealing any future plans.”

Nadette is the second of four foals and lone scorer produced by a multiple-winning half-sister to Listed Lure S. victor Kencumin (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}). Her second dam Cumin (Fusaichi Pegasus), herself a full-sister to dual Grade III placegetter Obsequious, ran third in the G3 Prestige S. and is a granddaughter of MG1SW European Horse of the Year User Friendly (GB) (Slip Anchor {GB}). The April-foaled bay is kin to a 2-year-old colt by Kendargent (Fr) and a yearling filly by Al Wukair (Ire).

Thursday, ParisLongchamp, France
PRIX FINLANDE-Listed, €55,000, ParisLongchamp, 5-19, 3yo, f, 9fT, 1:54.30, g/s.
1–NADETTE (FR), 123, f, 3, by Outstrip (GB)
1st Dam: Ciboulette (Ire), by Pivotal (GB)
2nd Dam: Cumin, by Fusaichi Pegasus
3rd Dam: User Cat, by Storm Cat
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (€50,000 Ylg '20 AROCT; €17,000 2yo '21 ARQJUN). O-Team Valor International & Marco Saviozzi; B-Herve Dardenne (FR); T-Romain Le Dren Doleuze; J-Theo Bachelot. €27,500. Lifetime Record: 6-3-1-0, €68,400.
2–Bahasa (Ire), 123, f, 3, Siyouni (Fr)–Indonesienne (Ire), by Muhtathir (GB). O/B-Wertheimer & Frere (IRE); T-Christophe Ferland. €11,000.
3–Yukata (Ire), 123, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Blue Kimono (Ire), by Invincible Spirit (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-White Birch Farm, Michael Tabor & Susan Magnier; B-White Birch Farm (IRE); T-Jean-Claude Rouget. €8,250.
Margins: 1HF, HD, SHD. Odds: 6.40, 23.00, 2.40.
Also Ran: Raclette (GB), Jouza (Ire), Katoucha (Fr), Mascaret (GB), Peshmerga (Ger), Everest Rose (GB), Zaracampa (Fr). Video, sponsored by TVG.

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Barry Irwin
CEO, Team Valor International

The post Letters to the Editor: Barry Irwin appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Formerly the Marshua's River S., the 8 1/2-furlong test for older fillies and mares features a pair of Grade I winners–morning line favorite Peter Brant's Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) and Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), a homebred for Charles Fipke.

The former, a half-sister to MGSW Night Prowler (Giant's Causeway), is an eight-time stakes winner, including the most recent Del Mar's GI Matriarch S. Nov. 28. Last season, she also annexed the Plenty of Grace S. and De La Rose S., in addition to finishing runner-up in the GI First Lady S. The daughter of MGSW Mary's Follies was plucked out of the Paul Pompa Jr. dispersal at Keeneland last January by Brant for $925,000.

Lady Speightspeare showed her class early on, taking her career debut while becoming a 'TDN Rising Star' at Woodbine in August before taking the one-mile GI Natalma S. at that venue to cap off her 2-year-old campaign. Back on top in her sophomore reappearance while facing her elders in a Woodbine optional claimer last September, she was scratched after acting up in the gate before Keeneland's GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Oct. 16 and was scratched by her trainer Roger Attfield prior to the Oct. 29 GIII Rubicon Valley View S. Trying a synthetic surface for the first time in the seven-panel GII Bessarabian S. against older rivals at Woodbine Nov. 13, the chestnut rolled home by four lengths before finishing third behind the re-opposing Bipartisanship (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) in her final race of the season in Gulfstream's Tropical Park Oaks Dec. 26. Junior Alvarado rides the 4-year-old for the first time.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, offering very strong candidates in the other two Pegasus races, is represented in this inaugural running by Robert and Lawana Lowe's Sweet Melania (American Pharoah). The consistent filly has hit the board in 12 of 15 lifetime starts, including a recent win over the local turf course in the one-mile GIII Suwanee River S. Dec. 18. On that occasion, she defeated several horses marking their returns here, including runner-up Shifty She (Gone Astray).

“She's had six weeks since [the Suwanee River] and she's eating well, putting on a little more weight,” said Pletcher. “She's also been training very enthusiastically. All the signs you'd like to see. Her coat is better than it was. She just seems to be blossoming right now. This will be a tougher ask, but she's doing great.”

Making her U.S. debut Saturday, Gary Barber and Team Valor's Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}), winner of six of eight starts in Italy while under the care of trainer Diego Dettori. In her final race in Italy, the bay won the G3 Regina Elena Italian 1000 Guineas at Capannelle in Rome last April. Purchased by the current partnership 10 months ago, she suffered from bone bruising after her arrival in the U.S., postponing her Stateside debut.

“Everybody wants to win the 1000 Guineas equivalent. There it's a Group 3, but it's a Classic,” said Team Valor's Barry Irwin. “That's the big focal point for all the fillies.”

He continued, “She was a good 2-year-old. She would have been the second-best 2-year-old filly in Italy. She had six starts: four wins, two seconds. She got beat by the filly [Aria Importante] that wound up being the champion.”

Trained by Bill Mott, the filly will break from post 2 under Umberto Rispoli.

“She's a very likable filly,” said Irwin. “She's got a lot of pizazz about her. And she's got instant turn of foot, which is the one thing that we liked. That's why we buy so many horses over there. You tell them to go and it's like now.”

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