Addeybb | PA Media

All day long at Ascot, it was a case of deep-ground lovers need only apply and one who certainly fit that category was Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and he duly carried off the feature G1 QIPCO Champion S. Going through the conditions with an ease his rivals could not match, last year’s runner-up finally registered a first top-level success in his native country having annexed the G1 Ranvet S. and G1 Queen Elizabeth S. during a Spring campaign in Australia. Well-positioned in second by Tom Marquand throughout the early stages, Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum’s 9-1 shot was committed two from home and saw off Skalleti (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) to score by 2 1/4 lengths, with the 15-8 favourite Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) battling into third, half a length away. On a day when his partner Hollie Doyle made the headlines, Marquand was grabbing his own share but was quick to heap praise elsewhere. “What a credit to Safid [Alam], William and Maureen and the whole team at home. He’s gone to Australia, he conquered down under and now he’s come back up and he deserved that group one so much,” he said. “All he’s done is knock on the door, show he’s a champion and he’s never got his real swansong but today’s he’s got it.”

It has been a long voyage to star of the show at this prestigious meeting for Addeybb, who at one point in his career was labelled unlucky for failing to get his favoured easy conditions on several occasions. Kept in training and carefully nurtured by William Haggas, he proved that if you hang around long enough you can have things fall into place and they did this time with the track unraceable a fortnight ago. During the summer, the veteran had been rested but had shown enough when defying a seven-pound penalty in the Listed Doonside Cup on his return over this trip at Ayr Sept. 19 to confirm that he was very much a player here. Twelve months ago, the ground had not been bad enough for him to get past Magical but on this occasion he had first run on the mare who clearly struggled in the conditions.

With the sluggish-starting G1 Epsom Derby hero Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) soon rousted along to take the lead, the widest-drawn Addeybb was granted a perfect lead with the July 5 G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) too fresh in behind. “PCB” had Skalleti positioned alongside that Gosden runner after Ryan Moore had worked to get last year’s heroine into a challenging position in fifth. Turning for home, Tom Marquand had threats on either side but as soon as he pushed the button at the two-furlong pole the contest was decided with only the similarly ground-dependant Skalleti and the race’s class act Magical able to give meaningful pursuit. “He travelled like a true good horse throughout the race and to be honest when I started getting going, I just bombed the straight,” Marquand explained. “It’s remarkable, I’ve never ridden a horse like him. He goes over ground that’s as bad as you can get and he makes it feel like you are on quick ground. That’s why he’s so good on it.”

Addeybb, who first came to prominence when beating fellow social climber Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) in the Lincoln H. over Doncaster’s straight mile in March 2018, looked to be going places fast when adding the following month’s G2 Sandown Mile to his tally. Denied a fair crack at this level due to drying ground thereafter, it was not until June 2019 that he enjoyed another slice of fortune when taking a competitive renewal of the course-and-distance Listed Wolferton S. at the Royal meeting. Winning the G3 Rose of Lancaster S. on heavy ground at Haydock before beating all bar Magical in this, the bay went to Australia and connections were rewarded for their enterprise as he gave four pounds to Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ})–since the winner of three group 1 races including Saturday’s Caulfield Cup–in both Rosehill’s Ranvet Mar. 21 and the Queen Elizabeth at Randwick Apr. 11. On the latter occasion, when the ground had deepened, he put 2 3/4 lengths between himself and that filly but it was officially “good” as he trailed Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) when second in the June 17 G1 Prince of Wales’s S.

William Haggas said, “He has been absolutely fantastic. Since he won the Wolferton last year and we put the cheek-pieces on, he has just been so consistent. He was really on it today. He looked fantastic beforehand, we thought, but he was grumpy and difficult to saddle, which is a good sign for him. He has got such a marvellous nature and this is tailor-made for him. We all know that he loves this ground. We have finally won a championship race with such a good horse.”
Pondering the winner’s journey, he added, “I said after six-year-old One Master won the Foret for a third time that, if you can keep them happy, sound and not abuse them when they are young they will reward you when they are older. This is exactly what he has done. Look at today–the first winner was six, the second winner was six–if they are sound, healthy and keep their enthusiasm, which he has done, then they can enjoy life. I think that was his best ever performance at the age of six.”

“He is great at home and Safid, who rides him every day, said this morning that he would win and that he was really on form. I have been not very well for a bit and then have been at the sales when I have been better, so I have hardly seen him. I have seen him at first lot but that is it really, so all credit to my team at home and to Safid in particular, who dotes on this horse. I think he is looking for another couple of months in Australia next spring! If we can get back there, we will obviously consider it. We also might consider Saudi Arabia as well, which is dirt but that dirt track is terrific and possibly worth a short.”

Addeybb’s dam Bush Cat (Kingmambo) also produced the GIII Generous S. third Meer Kat (Ire) (Red Ransom) and is a daughter of the Listed Schwarzwald-Rennen winner and G3 Royal Whip S. third Arbusha (Danzig). Dam of Mercer Mill’s stakes winners Busha and Rip N’ Run, she is a full-sister to the G2 Goldene Peitsche hero Nicholas and the dam of the G1 Irish St Leger and G1 Gran Premio di Milano hero Strategic Choice (Alleged). Descended from the dam line of the US Fillies’ Triple Crown heroine Shuvee (Nashua), Bush Cat’s yearling filly is by Dream Ahead.

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO CHAMPION S.-G1, £750,000, Ascot, 10-17, 3yo/up, 9f 212yT, 2:12.29, sf.
1–ADDEYBB (IRE), 131, g, 6, by Pivotal (GB)
     1st Dam: Bush Cat, by Kingmambo
     2nd Dam: Arbusha, by Danzig
     3rd Dam: Lulu Mon Amour, by Tom Rolfe
(200,000gns Ylg ’15 TAOCT). O-Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited (IRE); T-William Haggas; J-Tom Marquand. £425,325. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Aus, 20-11-3-2, $2,443,492. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Skalleti (Fr), 131, g, 5, Kendargent (Fr)–Skallet (Fr), by Muhaymin. (€85,000 Ylg ’16 ARAUG). O-Jean-Claude Seroul; B-Guy Pariente Holding (FR); T-Jerome Reynier. £161,250.
3–Magical (Ire), 128, m, 5, Galileo (Ire)–Halfway To Heaven (Ire), by Pivotal (GB). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. £80,700.
Margins: 2 1/4, HF, 3HF. Odds: 9.00, 6.50, 1.88.
Also Ran: Serpentine (Ire), Desert Encounter (Ire), Extra Elusive (GB), Pyledriver (GB), Mishriff (Ire), Japan (GB), Lord North (Ire). Scratched: San Donato (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

QEII Glory For Dubawi’s The Revenant

 

The Revenant | PA Media

On a day when only the fittest survived, the suitably dramatically-titled The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) as expected made light of Ascot’s very testing ground to take the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. for France. Like the G1 QIPCO Champion S. hero Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) runner-up in his respective race 12 months ago, Al Asayl France’s chestnut had a proven love of these conditions in his armoury as well as freshness having only re-appeared this season a fortnight previously when winning the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein at ParisLongchamp. Sent off the 5-1 second favourite to go one better than in 2019, he was always in his comfort zone tracking the moderate early pace set by the 28-1 shot Roseman (Ire) (Kingman {GB}). Tackling that outsider inside the final two furlongs, he had edged ahead a furlong from home and answered Pierre-Charles Boudot’s every call to gain a head verdict, with 3 1/4 lengths back to the 8-11 favourite Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in third. “Today I was very confident and he did it well on the track,” commented France’s revelation ‘PCB’. “He was very relaxed and when I asked him he gave me a nice, long turn of foot and was courageous. He’s a super-tough horse.”

This was the one race on the card that played host to a potential superstar in the unbeaten Palace Pier and although he performed with credit on going that played against him, he was another in a line of John Gosden stars who failed to show their true colours in specialist ground. He made his move down the outer from rear under Dettori to threaten The Revenant, but was unable to keep tabs on the 5-year-old who had only the leader Roseman to worry about late on. Nothing got into contention from behind and it was ultimately left to The Revenant to make it a clean sweep for geldings in the day’s feature races open to them.

Trainer Francis Henri Graffard, whose 2020 has been highly profitable thanks to this stable stalwart, the filly Watch Me (Fr) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), sprinter Wooded (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and 3-year-old middle-distance performer In Swoop (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}), deserves all the credit available in nurturing the former Hugo Palmer trainee as Haggas has with Addeybb. Three-from-four as a 3-year-old, he was gelded and returned to reward that decision by annexing Saint-Cloud’s Listed Prix Altipan and G3 Prix Edmond Blanc last Spring. Brought here after subsequent wins in the G2 Badener Meile and last year’s renewal of the Daniel Wildenstein, he found only King of Change (GB) (Farhh {GB}) too strong here and his subsequent absence until Arc Saturday was due to COVID-19 wiping out the early part of the calendar.

“I had him ready to run in the Spring, but when lockdown came I decided to send him out to grass and he had a good spell,” Graffard explained. “I had to wait until the Daniel Wildenstein for his comeback and he was only 80 per-cent fit for that race. I was a little bit stressed that I had to work him quite hard in the run-up, but everything was building to today. It all worked out because he is a very good horse with a lot of heart. It went exactly as we had planned, with him settled close to the pace.”

Gosden said of Palace Pier, “He pulled off a shoe leaving the gate. He was trying to run the whole race with one shoe off and Frankie said he was not able to change leads and the horse wasn’t able to handle the ground.”

The Revenant is the second foal out of Hazel Lavery (Ire) (Excellent Art {GB}), whose career sign-off came with a defeat of the eventual G1 Champion S. hero Noble Mission (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) on heavy ground in the G3 St Simon S. A half-sister to the Listed Premio Terme di Merano winner and G3 St Leger Italiano and G3 Give Thanks S. runner-up Leo Gali (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), she is a granddaughter of Rapid Repeat (Ire) (Exactly Sharp) who is kin to the G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial S.-winning sire Artema (Ire) (Common Grounds {GB}) and the stakes winner Hello Soso (Ire) (Alzao) who was also third in the GII Diana H. Hazel Lavery’s unraced 2-year-old filly by Oasis Dream (GB) is named La Viette (GB), while her 2020 foal is a daughter of Saxon Warrior (Jpn).

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QUEEN ELIZABETH II S.-G1, £650,000, Ascot, 10-17, 3yo/up, 8fT, 1:45.13, sf.
1–THE REVENANT (GB), 130, g, 5, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Hazel Lavery (Ire) (GSW-Eng, $246,630), by Excellent Art (GB)
2nd Dam: Reprise (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
3rd Dam: Rapid Repeat (Ire), by Exactly Sharp
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Al Asayl France; B-Al Asayl Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Pierre-Charles Boudot. £368,615. Lifetime Record: Hwt. Older Horse-Ger at 7-9 1/2f, MGSW-Fr & GSW-Ger, 13-10-2-1, $1,172,931. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Roseman (Ire), 130, c, 4, Kingman (GB)–Go Lovely Rose (Ire), by Pivotal (GB). (180,000gns Wlg ’16 TATFOA; €650,000 Ylg ’17 GOFOR). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Knocktoran Stud (IRE); T-Roger Varian. £139,750.
3–Palace Pier (GB), 127, c, 3, Kingman (GB)–Beach Frolic (GB), by Nayef. (600,000gns Ylg ’18 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum; B-Highclere Stud and Floors Farming (GB); T-John Gosden. £69,940.
Margins: HD, 3 1/4, HF. Odds: 5.00, 28.00, 0.73.
Also Ran: Sir Busker (Ire), Veracious (GB), Lord Glitters (Fr), Dark Vision (Ire), Nazeef (GB), Century Dream (Ire), Circus Maximus (Ire), Royal Dornoch (Ire), Molatham (GB), Escobar (Ire), Lancaster House (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

 

Le Havre’s Wonderful Tonight Unstoppable in the Fillies & Mares

 

Wonderful Tonight | racingfotos.com

It’s been the best part of three decades since Culture Vulture (Timeless Moment) strutted her stuff at the top table in Chris Wright’s blue-and-yellow silks and the music supremo has found a jewel to match that luminary’s achievements after David Menuisier incumbent Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) backed up a career best in ParisLongchamp’s G1 Prix de Royallieu earlier this month with a game victory in Saturday’s G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot. The bay sophomore was in receipt of a six-pound pull from her elders and made that weight-for-age allowance tell from the outset, occupying a forward berth after a slick departure in the 12-furlong contest. Easing to the front with three furlongs remaining, the 4-1 favourite was committed when stoked up by William Buick at the top of the straight and stayed on relentlessly under a drive inside the final quarter mile to deny the hattrick-seeking Hollie Doyle, aboard G1 Preis von Europa and G1 Prix Vermeille third Dame Malliot (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), by 2 1/2 lengths. Coolmore’s G1 Irish Oaks placegetter Passion (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) stayed on well from mid division to finish a length back in third.

“I am so tired as I think I pushed harder than William [Buick] riding the filly and I am speechless, absolutely speechless,” admitted David Menuisier after registering a first premium-level tally on British soil. “She is a champion, I feel so lucky and blessed and I am absolutely thrilled. We bought her at the sales as a yearling for next to nothing and here she is winning her second Group 1 in two weeks. We know that she is very good and the only question mark was whether she had recuperated from the Arc weekend or not. I hadn’t, but I am glad she did. She is top-class all round, she is easy to train and as tough as anything that is tough. She is getting better and better, and there is still some improvement to come. She is still a tad keen early on so, once she really knows how to settle, I think she can go up a notch again. You never know, especially with fillies, whether they are going to train on or not, but we wanted to keep her as a 4-year-old to target the [G1 Prix de l’] Arc [de Triomphe] next year. We nearly ran her in the Arc this year, and I think she would have run a stormer, but she wasn’t a Group 1 winner yet. Now she is so the sky is the limit.”

“This filly is rock solid, she is just straightforward and David was very confident beforehand,” added Buick. “She is proven on the ground and she stays well so she ticks a lot of boxes and I have been looking forward to riding this filly all week. She was out on her own all the way up the straight and it’s a long, daunting straight no matter what you’re riding. Her form is there for everyone to see and she won the Royallieu, which is a mile-and-six, on ground very similar to today. The race panned out beautifully for her, she got a nice bit of cover for the first half of the race and I always felt she was in a good rhythm and she did nothing but keep going. She has a lot of class, she has the stamina and the will to win to go with it. She has beaten some really good fillies very well and, when conditions are there to suit her, I can’t see why she shouldn’t scale further heights. She is very effective on soft ground and maybe other horses aren’t as effective as her, but she is by Le Havre so she might be bred to go on that ground. I have been riding for David Menuisier quite regularly and his horses have been going well all year. I have been very fortunate to get a few winners from David and to get on this filly was very special.”

Try as she might, Hollie Doyle was unable to maintain her 100% start to the day and was obliged to settle for second place after giving her mount Dame Malliot every chance of repeating the partnership’s success in July’s G2 Princess of Wales’s S. at Newmarket. On the podium once again, she commented, “Dame Malliot has run really well. She was a little bit keen early on, as expected, but has done nothing wrong in defeat. I followed the winner the whole way round and thought I had the perfect pitch. Will [Buick] pushed the button and took a few lengths out of me off the home turn and she just stayed on at the one pace.”

Wonderful Tonight’s dam Salvation (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}), who also produced Stateside stakes winner Penjade (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}), is a daughter of Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial victress Birdie (GB) (Alhaarth {Ire}). The latter, whose progeny include GIII Providencia S. scorer Hostess (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), is kin to the stakes-winning Fickle (GB) (Danehill), whose G3 Dahlia S.-winning daughter Tarfah (Kingmambo) produced G1 2000 Guineas, G1 Epsom Derby and G1 Irish Derby-winning sire Camelot (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}). Hailing from a family which also features G1 Epsom Oaks heroine Polygamy (GB), Salvation has a 2-year-old full-sister to Wonderful Tonight–who was knocked down to Saubouas Bloodstock for €80,000 at last year’s Arqana August Yearling Sale–and a yearling colt and filly foal by Recorder (GB). The yearling colt is slated to sell as Lot 170 during tomorrow’s first session of Arqana’s October Yearling Sale.

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS FILLIES & MARES S.-G1, £350,000, Ascot, 10-17, 3yo/up, f, 11f 211yT, 2:37.84, sf.
1–WONDERFUL TONIGHT (FR), 125, f, 3, by Le Havre (Ire)
1st Dam: Salvation (GB), by Montjeu (Ire)
2nd Dam: Birdie (GB), by Alhaarth (Ire)
3rd Dam: Fade (GB), by Persepolis (Fr)
(€40,000 Ylg ’18 ARAUG). O-Christopher Wright; B-SARL Ecurie La Cauviniere (FR); T-David Menuisier; J-William Buick. £198,485. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, 8-4-1-1, $448,683. *1/2 to Penjade (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}), SW-US & MSP-Fr, $376,306. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Dame Malliot (GB), 131, f, 4, Champs Elysees (GB)–Stars In Your Eyes (GB), by Galileo (Ire). O-A E Oppenheimer; B-Hascombe & Valiant Studs (GB); T-Ed Vaughan. £75,250.
3–Passion (Ire), 125, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Dialafara (Fr), by Anabaa. (800,000gns Ylg ’18 TATOCT). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Lynch Bages Ltd & Camas Park Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. £37,660.
Margins: 2HF, 1, 2. Odds: 4.00, 5.00, 14.00.
Also Ran: Mehdaayih (GB), Even So (Ire), Manuela de Vega (Ire), Thundering Nights (Ire), Gold Wand (Ire), Frankly Darling (GB), Cabaletta (GB), Laburnum (Ire), Antonia de Vega (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

 

Hollie Doyle At The Double in Ascot’s Champions Sprint

 

Glen Shiel and Hollie Doyle | PA Media

Not content to rest on her laurels, rider-of-the-moment Hollie Doyle claimed a career-best success when guiding last month’s G1 Haydock Sprint Cup runner-up Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) to a dramatic success in Saturday’s Qipco British Champions Sprint S. at Ascot. Hambleton Racing Partnership’s veteran chestnut, who had previously claimed a first pattern-race triumph in The Curragh’s Aug. 8 G3 Phoenix Sprint S., broke like greased lightning from the gates and was in command under a tight hold until allowed a measure of rein at halfway. Looking certain to be swamped when a host of rivals threatened from all angles approaching the eighth pole, the 16-1 chance found Doyle at her maximum when fellow old stager and 2016 third Brando (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) gained an edge in the closing stages and rallied gamely in a ding-dong tussle to pluck a nose victory from the jaws of defeat in the final stride. Lael Stable’s One Master (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) finished with her usual gusto to edge Art Power (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) for third.

“I didn’t think I’d won, so to have had the result we have was incredible and I’m in a state of shock right now,” said a delighted Doyle after securing a first triumph at the highest level. “We had a really good old battle with [G1 July Cup hero and eventual fifth] Oxted from the three-furlong pole and I thought I’d be doing well to hold on like I did, but he is such a game horse. He is incredible and has got quicker with age. When we first got him, he was running over 10 furlongs [for Andre Fabre] in France and didn’t show a whole lot of speed, but the further we dropped him back, the quicker he has got. This isn’t about me, it’s about [trainer] Archie Watson, who has campaigned this horse unbelievably and no one else would have won a Group 1 with this horse. It is a dream come true, a massive dream come true, especially on this horse and everyone in the yard adores him. My aim, at the start of the year, was to ride a Group winner and I always said a Group 1 one day, but I didn’t think it would come this year. I don’t get too carried away, but I’m a bit delusional as to what is going on at the moment as it has all been a bit of a whirlwind.”

Popular veteran Brando, contesting a fifth straight renewal and registering his best effort in this event, rolled back the years and provided a flashback of all his old sparkle in getting to within a pixel of springing an 80-1 shocker. Jockey Tom Eaves enjoyed mixed emotions, but was nonetheless delighted with the performance and said, “You are always gutted finishing second, but he has run a stormer of a race. It was a bob of the heads and I’m delighted, but gutted at the same time. He has been running okay, he ran well [when third in the rescheduled G3 Bengough S.] at York last Saturday and that probably put him right for this. York has never been his sort of track, but he likes it here on this big, stiff track. It is a great training performance.”

Glen Shiel, who is the lone pattern-race scorer for G3 Princess Elizabeth S. victress Gonfilia (Ger) (Big Shuffle), is a full-brother to the hitherto unraced 2-year-old filly Greta Hellstrom (GB) and a half to G3 Sirenia S. placegetter Signs In The Sand (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) . Gonfilia is herself a full-sister to G3 Grosser Preis der Dortmunder Wirtschaft victor and G2 German 2000 Guineas second Gonlargo (Ger) as well as being kin to G1 Deutschland-Preis and G1 Preis von Europa heroine Gonbarda (Ger) (Lando {Ger}). Gonbarda, in turn, produced G1 Champion S. and G1 Lockinge S.-winning sire Farhh (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) as well as G3 Winter Hill S.-winning G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern runner-up Racing History (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Glen Shiel’s third dam is G3 German 1000 Guineas heroine Grimpola (Ger) (Windwurf {Ger}), whose descendants include MG1SW G1 Irish Derby hero Fame and Glory (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and MG1SW G1 1000 Guineas heroine Legatissimo (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS SPRINT S.-G1, £391,260, Ascot, 10-17, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:16.74, sf.
1–GLEN SHIEL (GB), 128, g, 6, by Pivotal (GB)
1st Dam: Gonfilia (Ger) (GSW-Eng & SW-Fr, $359,409), by Big Shuffle
2nd Dam: Gonfalon (GB), by Slip Anchor (GB)
3rd Dam: Grimpola (Ger), by Windwurf (Ger)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (£45,000 5yo ’19 GOFSPR). O-Hambleton Racing XXXVI & Partner; B-Darley (GB); T-Archie Watson; J-Hollie Doyle. £221,884. Lifetime Record: GSW-Ire, SW & GSP-Fr, 27-8-7-1, $580,169. *1/2 to Signs In The Sand (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}), GSP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Brando (GB), 128, g, 8, Pivotal (GB)–Argent du Bois, by Silver Hawk. (52,000gns Ylg ’13 TAOCT; 115,000gns 2yo ’14 TATBRE). O-Mrs Angie Bailey; B-Car Colston Hall Stud (GB); T-Kevin Ryan. £84,121.
3–One Master (GB), 125, m, 6, Fastnet Rock (Aus)–Enticing (Ire), by Pivotal (GB). O-Lael Stable; B-Lael Stables (GB); T-William Haggas. £42,100.
Margins: NO, HF, HF. Odds: 16.00, 80.00, 5.50.
Also Ran: Art Power (Ire), Oxted (GB), Onassis (Ire), Lope Y Fernandez (Ire), Dream of Dreams (Ire), Happy Power (Ire), Sonaiyla (Ire), Speak In Colours (GB), The Tin Man (GB), Chiefofchiefs (GB), Starman (GB), Jouska (GB), Cape Byron (GB). Scratched: Dubai Station (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

 

Planteur’s Trueshan Routs Long Distance Cup Rivals

 

Trueshan | PA Media

Ascot’s rain-affected British Champions Day opened with the £300,000 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup over the best part of two miles and it was Hollie Doyle, fresh from setting a record number of winners earlier in the week, who celebrated success with a wide-margin tally aboard Barbary Lions 5’s 4-year-old gelding Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}). The Alan King trainee’s previous best came in July’s Listed Tapster S. at Haydock and he earned his place in this line-up coming back off an eighth–behind the reopposing Fujaira Prince (Ire) (Pivotal {GB})–in York’s Aug. 22 Ebor H. and a Sept. 11 Salisbury conditions score over 14 furlongs last time. Trueshan found a comfortable rhythm just off the pace in sixth, but slipped one spot as 11-10 pick Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) improved position at halfway. Making rapid headway on the home turn, the 11-1 chance quickened into second entering the final quarter mile and powered ever clear under minimal urging once seizing control soon after to hit the line an impressive 7 1/2 lengths ahead of dual G1 Irish St Leger heroine Search For A Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), with old foe Fujaira Prince holding the closing pack for third. Stradivarius was unable to land a blow and finished 12th of 13.

“I travelled all over them and that was incredible,” exclaimed a jubilant Doyle. “He doesn’t like being crowded so I switched him at the three-[furlong] pole and the further I went, the better he went. He was almost overtravelling with me and I had to stay out a bit wide for the first three furlongs, but luckily I managed to slot in there and got a nice position outside Stradivarius. He was tanking with me and he went through the ground like a tractor. The pace was reasonable, but he was travelling and he felt like he was hacking round there. I switched my fellow round horses as they said he didn’t like getting crowded in the Ebor and when I pushed the button, he responded. It is testing and it is wet, heavy ground and hard work. I rode him first time at Wolverhampton, and that was a bit of a surprise, and then he bolted up at Ffos Las. I’ve not been on him since so I’m really grateful for the owners and Alan putting me back on him today. He is a proper horse, he won his first two starts and I’ve always liked him. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t realise he would be up to Group 2 level like today. I’m really happy people are seeing me as just a jockey, and not a female jockey, and shout out to Alan King because he is some trainer.”

Assistant trainer Dan Horsford added, “He’s been progressive all year and has improved for the step up to two miles. Who knows where he ends up from here, but it will be all the Cup races next year and I would think [any] hurdling [plans] will be shelved. It’s unbelievable, it looked like Hollie jumped in two furlongs out and she is still unbeaten on him. She gets on very well with him, but it just didn’t happen for him in the Ebor for whatever reason. It’s been a cracking year and long may it last.”

Reflecting on the performance of Stradivarius, who was not unduly punished once his chance had evaporated, trainer John Gosden said,  “The ground was too deep and too heavy and he hated it. Frankie [Dettori] thought he pulled his shoes off. He was in good form, but the ground was very deep down there and he would have probably been better running on the inner [jumps] track!” Dettori added, “I was never there and there is not much else I can say.”

Trueshan is the leading performer and sole stakes winner for dual scorer Shao Line (Fr) (General Holme), who has five winners to her credit and is a granddaughter of Marie de Lempire (Fr) (Faristan {GB}), herself the dam of the stakes-winning Dom Lurcy (Dom Racine {Fr}). Marie de Lempire is kin to the stakes-winning Marie d’Ivors (Fr) (Rheffic {Fr}) and the mare Herila (Fr) (Bold Lad), who in turn is the second dam of G1 Derby Italiano hero Houmayoun Fr) (Shernazar {Ire}) and three-time stakes victress Hanzala (Akarad {Fr}), with this being the tail line of G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Altissima (Klairon {Fr}). Shao Line’s last known foal is the unplaced 3-year-old gelding Je N’y Crois Pas (Fr) (Sommerabend {GB}).

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS LONG DISTANCE CUP-G2, £300,000, Ascot, 10-17, 3yo/up, 15f 209yT, 3:35.75, sf.
1–TRUESHAN (FR), 133, g, 4, by Planteur (Ire)
1st Dam: Shao Line (Fr), by General Holme
2nd Dam: Marie d’Altoria, by Roi de Rome
3rd Dam: Marie de Lempire (Fr), by Faristan (GB)
1ST GROUP WIN. (€8,000 Ylg ’17 OSLATE; 31,000gns 2yo ’18 TATHIT). O-Barbury Lions 5; B-Didier Blot (FR); T-Alan King; J-Hollie Doyle. £170,130. Lifetime Record: 11-7-1-0, $423,737. Werk Nick Rating: D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Search For A Song (Ire), 130, f, 4, Galileo (Ire)–Polished Gem (Ire), by Danehill. O/B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Dermot Weld. £64,500.
3–Fujaira Prince (Ire), 133, g, 6, Pivotal (GB)–Zam Zoom (Ire), by Dalakhani (Ire). (90,000gns Ylg ’15 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Roger Varian. £32,280.
Margins: 7HF, HF, NK. Odds: 11.00, 7.00, 10.00.
Also Ran: Morando (Fr), Sovereign (Ire), Dawn Patrol (Ire), Spanish Mission, Mildenberger (GB), Monica Sheriff (GB), Max Vega (Ire), Dubious Affair (Ire), Stradivarius (Ire), Broome (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

 

Galileo’s Bolshoi Ballet Earns Rising Star Tag at Leopardstown

 

Bolshoi Ballet | racingfotos.com

Coolmore’s Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who hit the board going one mile in his Oct. 3 debut at Newmarket last time, was sharply into stride and led from the outset of Friday’s Irish Stallion Farms EBF (C&G) Maiden at Leopardstown. Holding sway throughout the one-mile test, the even-money favourite was shaken up when threatened in early straight and powered clear under continued urging inside the final furlong to prevail by an impressive four lengths from O’Reilly (Fr) (Frankel {GB}), adding ‘TDN Rising Star’ status into the bargain.

“I fancied him in Newmarket, but he was too green that day,” explained winning rider Seamus Heffernan. “Ryan [Moore] said he liked him and that he’d be very hard to beat next time he ran. He was whinnying going to the start and, as I was going to make the running, I thought [racing with] company is a bit better. When I had company it worked and when I let him go he quickened really well. He’s from a good family and he’s a good mover. He has a big future.”

Full to MG1SP G2 Sandown Classic victor Southern France (Ire), Bolshoi Ballet is out of an unraced half-sister to MGSP Listed Prix Rose de Mai victress Aubergade (Fr) (Kaldoun {Fr}) and GSW G1 Prix de Diane runner-up Abbatiale (Fr) (Kaldoun {Fr}), whose own black-type descendants include last month’s G1 Moyglare Stud S. third Oodnadatta (Ire) (Australia {GB}). The April-foaled bay is also full to the dam of GII Miss Grillo S, third Editor At Large (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and his dam Alta Anna (Fr) (Anabaa) has a weanling filly by No Nay Never to come.

2nd-Leopardstown, €16,500, Mdn, 10-16, 2yo, c/g, 8fT, 1:48.22, yl.
BOLSHOI BALLET (IRE), c, 2, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Alta Anna (Fr), by Anabaa
2nd Dam: Anna Edes (Fr), by Fabulous Dancer
3rd Dam: Abbey (Fr), by Jim French
Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, $12,586. O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Lynch-Bages & Rhinestone Bloodstock (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. (by TDN)