Enable holds off Sea Of Class in an Arc extraordinaire | Racing Post

Tanking her way through Sunday’s G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in her inimitable style and toward immortality as the only British-trained dual winner of ParisLongchamp’s monument, the even-money favourite Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) was ultimately less impressive than at Chantilly 12 months ago but the line came just in time as compatriot Sea of Class (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) bore down late. Enjoying the perfect trip from her perfect draw, the perfect scenario was on the cards as soon as the record-holding five-times Arc hero Frankie Dettori took her forward and on to the lead with 300 metres to race. While there was not the power surge evident 12 months ago, there was enough to steal a large enough advantage to be insurmountable for the impressive flourish of the year-younger Sea of Class. At the line, there was a short neck between the Newmarket fillies, with last year’s runner-up Cloth of Stars (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) 3/4 of a length back in third. “She was not at her best today and this is entirely down to her and a lovely ride from Frankie on his 30th ride in the Arc,” John Gosden said. “It’s been a difficult and tough year with her and it has not been the preparation we’d have wanted. She had one little runaround on the all-weather and that’s not how you win an Arc. We had a hiccup between Kempton and here with a slight temperature thing, so it’s not been easy. She got herself back today with her natural determination, but she was not at full fitness and this is very much down to her mind and ability. She’s a wonderful filly and the ground was a bit slick and greasy–I had wanted more rain. It became a question of grit and durability and Frankie said in the last 100 metres he was in trouble but he gets himself up for these occasions and elevates himself to ride at a level nobody else can. If she is in good form, there’s no reason we wouldn’t try again but it’s up to Prince Khalid. This is beyond wonderful and very much against the odds, so I feel an enormous sense of relief.”

Enable had entered the 2017 renewal with a lot more in her favour, having enjoyed a flawless run up to the race via some hardening tests at Epsom, the Curragh, Ascot and York and helped by the soft ground which holds back so many and only widens the divide between her and them. She was also, as Sea of Class was this time, racing under the minimum weight of 8-9 due to age and sex and so anything other than an emphatic victory would have been an anti-climax. This time, Clarehaven Stable’s finest had been forced to navigate her through a variety of issues which kept her away from her planned starting points of the Coronation Cup, King George and Juddmonte International. When she resurfaced to dispose of Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), albeit in receipt of eight pounds, on Kempton’s Polytrack in the Sept. 8 G3 September S., she gave off all the positive energy that had characterised her performances the previous season and so it seemed to be game on for Paris.

What we found out five minutes after she lunged across the line ahead of all assembled rivals for the second time and the first time at this landmark race’s spiritual home was that the last four weeks had provided extra unwelcome drama. With the draw being especially kind to counteract that, the Juddmonte dynamo sat just off the pace carved out by the Ballydoyle pair Nelson (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) with Sea of Class forced to bring up the rear as James Doyle waited for a miracle. As the race’s most-improved performer Nelson took the field into the “false straight”, the prospects for Sea of Class looked grim as she faced the task of making up a near-10 length deficit on Enable who was taking Frankie ever onward. As the eventual winner ground down Capri with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining, Doyle was setting about making an impact and although his mount had to switch around Tiberian (Fr) (Tiberius Caesar {Fr}) she lost minimal momentum there. Enable had gone into the clear as Cloth of Stars lived out Andre Fabre’s promise that he had him where he was in 2017, but the closing effort of the Tsui family’s chestnut will stand alongside some of this race’s most enduring memories. For a few strides in her desperate surge for the post, it seemed almost possible that she could keep up the owners’ 100 per-cent record in the race but at the final reckoning there was half of Enable’s neck in the way.

Christopher Tsui was taking defeat on the chin as he pondered the run of the Irish and Yorkshire Oaks heroine from stall 15. “When they came into the straight, I thought she had absolutely no chance and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a race like it,” he said. “To finish where she did is unbelievable. We can’t do anything about the draw and we’ll never know what could have happened had she been drawn lower. We are pleased with the result and James [Doyle] has been fantastic in the preparation he’s done. We are very thankful for having him. Obviously, Enable is the best horse in the world right now and to finish just behind her is not bad, I think.” Maureen Haggas, daughter of Lester Piggott, revealed she had consulted with the legend shortly after the stable had learnt of the draw. “I rang my father when we found out and said ‘what do we do?’ and he said ‘don’t change tactics, drop her out the back and pray’. She has run a brilliant race and we are thrilled to bits, but sad for James [Doyle],” she said. “From that draw, she has run unbelievably well and just didn’t quite get there. We can’t be disappointed in any way, just sad as she’s a brilliant filly and got beat. James had little alternative really from where we were drawn and let’s hope she can come back next year.” Godolphin’s Lisa-Jane Graffard said, “Cloth of Stars has run an absolute blinder for the second year in the Arc and finished closer to Enable this time. He has again shown his class and acceleration and run a super race. Andre has primed him perfectly for the race. We are incredibly proud.”

Teddy Grimthorpe was keen to pay tribute to Enable and said, “She probably needed the race and was not 100 per-cent, so was getting a bit tired but is all heart. She really had the dream trip and we were lucky. There couldn’t be a greater honour for a breeding operation than winning the Arc again with a homebred filly who is exceptional and Prince Khalid is now tied with M. Boussac who also won six Arcs. The beauty of her is that she loves her racing and loves winning and no-one should underestimate the skills of John Gosden. He has done a great job and shown great patience and understanding to bring her here today. Now we have some decisions to make as to her next race and next year, but we’ll how she comes out of this in the next week or so. Being a fresh filly, with just two races under her belt this year, she could possibly run again and the [Nov. 3 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf] is one of the options.”

Given the outstanding record of Sea the Stars in the race that confirmed him as one of the greats of recent times, it is fascinating that Enable’s dam Concentric (GB) (Sadler’s Wells) produced a colt foal by him this year. Perhaps in 2021 he might be here too, as his relative Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) was on three occasions with two of those yielding second placings in 2014 and 2015. Perhaps her yearling filly by Frankel (GB) will get here first, while her 2-year-old full-sister to Enable named Entitle (GB) will have to put a debut sixth at Newmarket in June well behind her to reach anything like this standard. Concentric is connected to Dance Routine (GB), like her by Sadler’s Wells who was runner-up in the G1 Prix de Diane and last year’s GII Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup scorer Projected (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX DE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE-G1, €5,000,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-7, 3yo/up, c/f, 12fT, 2:29.24, gd.
1–ENABLE (GB), 128, f, 4, by Nathaniel (Ire)
1st Dam: Concentric (GB) (SW & GSP-Fr, $117,776), by Sadler’s Wells
2nd Dam: Apogee (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
3rd Dam: Bourbon Girl, by Ile de Bourbon
O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. €2,857,000. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 3yo-Eur at 11-14f, MG1SW-Eng, G1SW-Ire, 10-9-0-1, €7,356,881. *1/2 to Contribution (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), MGSP-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sea of Class (Ire), 121, f, 3, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Holy Moon (Ire), by Hernando (Fr). (170,000gns Ylg ’16 TATDEY). O-Sunderland Holding Inc; B-Razza Del Velino SRL (IRE); T-William Haggas. €1,143,000.
3–Cloth of Stars (Ire), 131, h, 5, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Strawberry Fledge, by Kingmambo. (400,000gns Ylg ’14 TATOCT). O-Godolphin SNC; B-Peter Anastasiou (IRE); T-Andre Fabre. €571,500.
Margins: SNK, 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 1.00, 5.40, 41.00.
Also Ran: Waldgeist (GB), Capri (Ire), Salouen (Ire), Kew Gardens (Ire), Nelson (Ire), Study of Man (Ire), Magical (Ire), Way to Paris (GB), Tiberian (Fr), Talismanic (GB), Patascoy (Fr), Defoe (Ire), Hunting Horn (Ire), Clincher (Jpn), Neufbosc (Fr), Louis d’Or (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Raven’s Pass’s Royal Marine Takes the Lagardere

 

Royal Marine | racingfotos.com

By Tom Frary

Much of the talk before Sunday’s G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp centred around the home-trained Anodor (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}), but the Freddy Head sensation had to give best behind a Godolphin-Ballydoyle skirmish in which Royal Marine (Ire) (Raven’s Pass) prevailed for the boys in blue. Having let the side down on debut, the highly-regarded homebred had provided ample compensation with a dynamic winning performance from the front at Doncaster Sept. 14 which had genuine gravity on the eye and the clock. Tending to over-race initially before settling in the able hands of Oisin Murphy, the 6-1 shot had Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) to lead him with Ryan Moore keen to counter the Rosegreen runner’s customary lethargy. Gaining the edge with 300 metres remaining, Royal Marine asserted soon after and may have been tiring late as the margin shrank to a neck. The 4-5 favourite Anodor, who had been described by Freddy Head before the race as the best 2-year-old he had trained, looked content behind the overseas pair throughout but when push came to shove his response was too steady and he was able only to get to within 3/4 of a length of Broome in third. For Saeed bin Suroor, the win represented a watershed moment coming out of a relatively quiet spell. “Last year, I didn’t really have the horses, but this year Sheikh Mohammed has sent me some nice horses and they are doing well,” he said. “He’s a big strong horse who could be anything and it is exciting for the future. He has talent but also temperamental issues, as he acted up in the stables before the race and it was only when I put the saddle on that he settled. I like the way he moves and he is actually really brilliant. We’ll take him to Dubai for the winter and I’ll speak to Sheikh Mohammed and we’ll make a plan.”

Royal Marine had carried a smart reputation into his six-furlong Newmarket debut Aug. 25, but did his prospects little good by becoming upset in the stalls and could manage just sixth behind TDN Rising Star and subsequent G1 Middle Park S. runner-up Jash (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). A different proposition at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting, he was able to beat the subsequent dual winner and TDN Rising Star Turgenev (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and cover the same seven-furlong trip in a faster time than the card’s Listed Flying Scotsman S. winner Sangarius (GB) (Kingman {GB}) carrying five pounds more. Oisin Murphy had a relatively straightforward task here and he was impressed. “He’s a very good horse, low on experience but with plenty of ability,” he said. “They went slow and we got racing early. I was wary not to get to Ryan too soon, as Royal Marine has a lot of pace but I got away with it. I think he is a miler.”

Aidan O’Brien will surely be thinking of Derbys with Broome and he said of the runner-up, “He’s finished for the year, but he’s a horse that I’m really looking forward to. He ran very well even though he is immature. We could direct him towards the Classic path. We are very happy with the start of the progeny of Australia and looking forward to see what the years to come will bring. Broome has a superb action and had plenty of gas to finish his race.” Freddy Head was taking positives from the display of Anodor and said, “When the others accelerated, he had a hard time following them but he stayed on and finished well. I was happy with the end of the race and he finished with plenty of resources. He is still an unexposed horse, he needs to mature and he hasn’t finished his growth quite yet. He hasn’t had to fight like this before and he will surely progress with time. We will see him next year, certainly over a mile to start with, but there are no reasons why he couldn’t stay further after.”

A half-brother to the useful miler Secret Ambition (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), the listed winner Crystal River (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) who stayed slightly further, and the latter’s dual-winning 3-year-old 10-furlong handicapper Midnight Meeting (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Royal Marine may ultimately prove most effective in the Classics staged over a mile and that was the instant impression of his jockey here. Even the dam Inner Secret (Singspiel {Ire}) is a half to bin Suroor’s high-class group 1-winning milers Librettist (Danzig) and Dubai Destination (Kingmambo). If there is hope that Royal Marine could stay the Derby trip and emulate last year’s third in this Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), it comes in Inner Secret’s half-brother Secret Number (GB) also by Raven’s Pass. He was still performing with real credit at the age of seven and stayed 12 furlongs strongly as he proved when annexing the 2013 G3 Cumberland Lodge S. and last year’s G2 International Bosphorus Cup while he also finished second over an extra furlong in the G3 Queen’s Cup. The third dam is the G3 Musidora S. third Mysteries (Seattle Slew), whose progeny list is headed by the G1 July Cup and G1 Prix de l’Abbaye sprinting hero and leading Japanese sire Agnes World (Danzig). Inner Secret’s yearling colt is by Dark Angel (Ire), while she also has a colt foal by Dawn Approach (Ire).

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX JEAN-LUC LAGARDERE – GRAND CRITERIUM (SPONSORISE PAR MANATEQ)-G1, €400,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-7, 2yo, c/f, 8fT, 1:39.10, gd.
1–ROYAL MARINE (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Raven’s Pass
1st Dam: Inner Secret, by Singspiel (Ire)
2nd Dam: Mysterial, by Alleged
3rd Dam: Mysteries, by Seattle Slew
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Saeed bin Suroor; J-Oisin Murphy. €228,560. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, €239,498. *1/2 to Crystal River (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), SW-Fr; and Secret Ambition (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), GSP-UAE, $224,564. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Broome (Ire), 126, c, 2, Australia (GB)–Sweepstake (Ire), by Acclamation (GB). (€120,000 RNA Ylg ’17 GOFOR; 150,000gns Ylg ’17 TATDEY). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Epona Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. €91,440.
3–Anodor (Fr), 126, c, 2, Anodin (Ire)–Decize (Fr), by Kentucky Dynamite. (€32,000 RNA Ylg ’17 ARAUG). O-Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard & Mme Frederic Head; B-I D Fair (FR); T-Freddy Head. €45,720.
Margins: NK, 3/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 5.80, 5.90, 0.80.
Also Ran: Boitron (Fr), Shaman (Ire), Dark Jedi (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

 

Style Vendome’s Lily’s Candle Swoops For Marcel Boussac Triumph

Sunday, October 7, 2018

LCP, Gr. Stk, 400000

G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac

(8f)

Winner: Lily’s Candle (Fr), f, 2 by Style Vendome (Fr)

 

 

Lily’s Candle | Racing Post

By Tom Frary

   Allowed off at an almost unconsidered 27-1, Martin Schwartz’s Lily’s Candle (Fr) (Style Vendome {Fr}) upstaged her seven rivals and swooped late for Sunday’s G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac to kick off ParisLongchamp’s Arc Sunday with a bang. The grey yielded an instant dividend on the €390,000 Schwartz had paid the night before at Arqana’s Arc Sale. Having opened up with a June 15 debut sixth tackling seven furlongs at Saint-Cloud, she graduated upped to one mile at Marseille-Borely next time July 12 before doubling up in the Aug. 4 Listed Prix des Jouvenceaux et des Jouvencelles reverting to seven at Vichy and she was a last-out fourth over that distance here in the Sept. 2 G3 Prix La Rochette. Settled at the tail of the field for the most part, she was under pressure when gifted an opportunity for a wide run with 300 metres remaining and kept on relentlessly for continued rousting in the closing stages to deny Matematica (Ger) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) by a short neck nearing the line. Star Terms (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) endured traffic in the straight and proved best of the rest, the same margin adrift in third. “She was sold last night at the Arqana sale and it’s turned out to be a lovely investment,” said winning trainer Fabrice Vermeulen. “We ran her hoping for a place, but with the strong pace and waiting tactics she was capable of showing more than we expected. I’m over the moon and shaking with joy after collecting a Group 1 prize. Now that she’s been bought by Mr Schwartz, I don’t know if she’ll remain here or be sent to America, but this win is a good advertisement for keeping her with me!” Carlos Laffon-Parias was delighted with the performance of runner-up Matematica, who remains a maiden after two starts, adding, “She was beaten narrowly [over this course and distance] in her first run, but we’d have run her anyway even if she’d won. It was a bit of a gamble, but the owners were sporting and played along with the plan. I thought she had it won at one point and it was a most promising effort. She’ll be a long odds-on favourite if she returns in a maiden next season.”

   Lily’s Candle, half-sister to a yearling filly by American Post (GB), is the first pattern-race winner for Golden Lily (Fr) (Dolphin Street {Fr}), who is a winning half-sister to three-time stakes scorer Liliside (Fr) (American Post {GB}), herself the dam of MG1SP G3 Tokyo Shimbun Hai and G3 Artemis S. victress Lys Gracieux (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}). Golden Lily is also kin to Listed Prix La Camargo victress Lily America (Fr) (American Post {GB}) and G3 Prix Miesque runner-up The Wise Lady (Fr) (Ganges), who in turn is the dam of G3 Premio Sergio Cumani heroine Ming Zhi Cosmos (Fr) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) and Listed Prix Zeddaan victor Melodyman (Fr) (Green Tune). The Wise Lady is also the granddam of G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud hero Robin of Navan (Fr) (American Post {GB}).

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX MARCEL BOUSSAC – CRITERIUM DES POULICHES-G1, €400,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-7, 2yo, f, 8fT, 1:38.98, gd.
1–LILY’S CANDLE (FR), 123, f, 2, by Style Vendome (Fr)
1st Dam: Golden Lily (Fr), by Dolphin Street (Fr)
2nd Dam: Miller’s Lily (Fr), by Miller’s Mate (GB)
3rd Dam: Lymara (Fr), by Lyphard
1ST GROUP WIN. (€15,000 Ylg ’17 AROCT; €390,000 HRA ’18 ARQARC). O-Martin S Schwartz Racing; B-Mme Pierre Lepeudry (FR); T-Fabrice Vermeulen; J-Pierre-Charles Boudot. Lifetime Record: 5-3-0-0, €275,560. Werk Nick Rating: A+.Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Matematica (Ger), 123, f, 2, Rock of Gibraltar (Ire)–Mathematicienne (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). O/B-Wertheimer & Frere (GER); T-Carlos Laffon-Parias. €91.440.
3–Star Terms (GB), 123, f, 2, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Best Terms (GB), by Exceed and Excel (Aus). O-R Barnett; B-W&R Barnett Ltd (GB); T-Richard Hannon. €45,720.
Margins: SNK, SNK, HF. Odds: 27.00, 11.00, 6.10.
Also Ran: Lagrandecatherine (Fr), Pink Dogwood (Ire), Rocques (Fr), Dubai Beauty (Ire), Ceratonia (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

fonte : TDN