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Two more two-year-old races to digest since my last post.
On Monday at Nantes, previously noted Best Sixteen got off the mark at the third time of asking. Prior to the race I was thinking to myself that this might be his last chance given that he was forward enough to be favourite for the very first race of the season but he actually did this well enough to suggest he might still be improving. The camera angles aren’t very helpful at the Loire course (nor are the trees) but he looked to not be able to lay up with the initial pace and his position looked unpromising at the 300m pole. He showed a good burst of acceleration however and cut down the debutante Dame De Paris to win going away with rider Gregory Benoist looking decidedly unconcerned as if the matter had never been in doubt. He certainly needed this extra distance and I will keep him in the notebook for at least one more start.
Of the beaten horse, Joli Coup (broke on terms this time and had every chance) and Nouvelle Belle once again got in the frame. They both have ability and may find a similar race at a provincial course like this but are going to be vulnerable to newcomers and improvers. One of the newcomers in this race did catch my eye. Gold Player eventually finished well down the field but he raced with a lot of enthusiasm in front until headed at the 300m pole and allowed to come home in his own time. Henri Pantall has only had one other two year old runner this season and rarely has his horses wound up first time (2 debut winners last season from 48 horses) so it’s reasonable to expect him to do better in due course.
The newcomers event at Chantilly on Tuesday has had me scratching my head a bit. Mountain Madness bolted up by 8 lengths despite looking green and being sent off at 11/1. The ground was good (Bon 3.2) so can’t be used as an excuse and the race seemed to be run at a fairly even pace (sadly no sectional timings report is available) although not many got in to it it has to be said so either she is a superstar and the rest are average, or she is average and the rest are platers. The time was significantly slower than the 3yo conditions race run over the same distance later in the card but the winner there is an unbeaten and progressive colt and the runner up has been placed in a Group 3 so you’d expect them to be able to go a bit.
We’ll just have to wait and see what this form amounts to and in the meantime I’m adding runner-up Gordon Break to the notebook. He looked like he might win when hitting the front after halfway but showed signs of inexperience as the winner swept by and that was that. By Goken who had 16 individual winners from his first crop last year I expect him to be winning soon. Several of the other beaten horses hinted at better to come as well and this might turn out to be a decent maiden.
The next race is at Chantilly on Friday where previously noted Glenall is amongst the entries.
A narrow defeat for Glenall at Chantilly on Friday, she still looked a little green to me and only went down by a head. I think she is worth another chance. No other eye-catchers here or in the 1000m maiden at Lyon-Parilly won in similar fashion by Ain’t Misbehaving, Theresa Marnane’s colt just prevailing from Follivores having pulled clear from Dux, who has some ability but looks to need further. I toyed with adding Follivores to the notebook as he had a much easier race than the winner but the promise was there for all to see and I suspect he might be overbet next time out.
At Bordeaux-Le-Bouscat on Sunday, previous winners Miss Cleopatra and the “notebook” horse Detesnouvelles looked to have the race between them. I didn’t put Detesnouvelles up on the Daily Lays and Plays thread as I didn’t think the drop back in trip would suit her especially against a rival that had shown so much speed first time up. This is pretty much how things unfolded. Detesnouvelles went to the front over 300m out and just for a moment the favourite looked in trouble, hanging fire slightly when given a reminder. She soon got the idea however and quickened to the front and won readily. Pace setting Septième Sens got much closer to the runner up than she has on her two previous starts and although clearly no great shakes, might be able to sneak a claimer from the front assuming this was no fluke.
At Le Mans on Monday, Andre Fabre saddled his first two juvenile runners of the season, including one for Goldophin. They were sent off the front two in the market at 13/8 and 5/2 and duly finished last and next-to-last. An inauspicious start to the campaign.
Strange though it may seem I am going to add one of these runners to the notebook. The fact that Sashiko was sent off at such a short price indicates that she has shown a bit at home and that much better was expected. Fast asleep as the stalls opened, she was a good ten lengths behind after 100m with Agustin Madamet scrubbing her along for all he was worth. She did actually manage to latch on to the rear of the main group after 300m but having run a little wide on the first turn she was then forced into the middle of the track by her weakening stablemate. Clearly finding her too green to be subjected to any sort of ride, Madamet allowed her to coast home and she will surely leave this effort well behind. A step up in trip will help given that the dam was a 1600m winner (also trained by Fabre) and has bred winners at 1400-1800m.
This race was notable for practically the whole field having an easy time of it. They were all newcomers and you don’t expect them to be given a hard debut but I think the winner was the only one really put under any sort of pressure when making her challenge at the 300m pole. The difficulty this poses is trying to determine which of the tenderly handled runners actually have ability and which are just slow. Conceivably I could have included the whole field as eye-catchers but in addition to the Fabre runner I’m only going to include the runner-up Marrante. Like the Henri Pantall runner I noted last week, Gold Player, I liked the way she raced enthusiastically from the front and she looked like she might have stolen this turning for home. Ultimately well beaten she was still five lengths clear of the third and can go one better next time.
Two small field maidens for newcomers at Chantilly tomorrow and then notebook runners Glen Carlos , Best Sixteen , Feelin Lucky and Perfect Colour all have entries towards the end of the week.
Plenty of races since my last post but not very much to report on. A lot of the races have been weak claimers and generally the maidens and conditions races have attracted small fields where the “potential improvers” have found it harder to have an easy time of it first time out.
There have been a couple of additions to the notebook however. At Marseille-Borely in the 1200m maiden last Friday, the favourite Diadema looked certain to win when drawing clear over 300m out only for Sylvan Ruis to get caught napping (to my eyes at least) and beaten on the nod by newcomer Were. These two pulled a little way clear of (notebook horse) Secret Feeling who had beaten Diadema previously and gives the form a solid look. Diadema is likely to make no mistake next time.
However, it was the fifth home, Alromy that caught my eye. Very weak in the market at 14/1 (the overnight betting forecast on attheraces.com had her in as 6/4 favourite
), she was soon dropped out the back and settled nicely for her inexperienced rider before making good headway rounding the final turn. Running green and hanging over to the far rail when put under (minimal) pressure she wasn’t really put into the race at any stage and should do much better next time. In the conditions race at Chantilly today (Monday) a rather more obvious eye-catcher but I’m going to include her in the notebook anyway. Green Queen had shown enough at home to be sent off joint favourite here ahead of one previous winner in Gorl Pit, and the same price as Anterselva who, as well as winning her maiden, had run well when second to Have A Good Day last time out. Lady Bamford’s daughter of Wootton Bassett took quite a keen hold in midfield and was inclined to hang right in the first half of the race. This didn’t stop her making smooth progress to challenge, and quickly master, Gorl Pit at the 300m pole before having no extra when Anterselva cruised by. Only nudged along to make sure of maintaining second this was a nice performance and she will be winning soon possibly over this minimum trip as her half sister, Lady Galore, was able to pick up (an admittedly rather weak) Listed race at Vichy over 1000m in 2019.
A couple of my previously noted horses have run a little disappointingly so I will now remove the following from the notebook:
Glen Carlos (virtually pulled up after 300m in weak claimer at La Teste and may have a physical problem)
Feelin Lucky (has run ok in two subsequent starts but hasn’t shown the level of progress I anticipated and might be the sort that runs often, picking up place money, but not winning)Any of the previously noted horses that run subsequently, and that I am backing (which is by no means all of them), are on a separate thread in the Daily Lays & Plays section called “French 2yo Notebook Selections”.
Two newcomers races at St-Cloud earlier in the week and both featured small fields and not too much urgency from the saddle. If the Stewards panel that recently suspended Jason Watson for 7 days had been sitting here I suspect the whole weighing room would have been “en vacances”. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to why the French stewards adopt a much more liberal stance in these matters.
Back to the two maidens, it’s tempting to include all of the runners in the notebook but that would be excessive. Try as I might however, I can’t get away from the three Jean-Claude Rouget representatives. In the colts race he was responsible for Evens favourite Green Fly which actually summed up his race quite nicely, green and niggled in rear until halfway then “flying” up the straight only to not quite get to the winner Nirliit. When the ground is very soft at St Cloud there seems to be a tendency to come over to the near side rail but Christian Demuro opted to stay in the middle of the track and ultimately that may have cost him here. Expect him to make amends next time.
Also in this race Super Khalli caught the eye. Like a lot of runners from the Botti yard he raced enthusiastically just off the pace but either through green-ness or lack of fitness couldn’t sustain the effort in the final 200 yards. I noted in my comments in running “no further progress and never asked for maximum effort”. It would be nice to see the stable fire in a few winners but hopefully this colt can build on this promising debut.
In the fillies heat Rouget was double handed with the market preferring the Coralie Pacaut ridden Girl Gone Wild over the Demuro partnered Blue Heart. Punters got that right but still didn’t collect as Pacaut’s mount, having gone to the front over 300m out, showed her inexperience and seemed to either change legs or falter about 100m from the post allowing Zellie to sweep by on the rail to lead close home. I expect her to make amends for this next time.
Blue Heart meanwhile had a nice run round at the back of the field, Demuro again choosing to stay in the centre of the course, before cruising up to the heels of the leaders over 300m out but not being asked to get any closer. She has plenty of pace in her pedigree being by Dandy Man out of a Dark Angel mare and should be able to win at this sort of trip (1200m).
A few more to add to the notebook from last week’s action.
Vichy staged the first listed race of the season on 20th May and Diablotine maintained her unbeaten record with a comfortable success in a field containing four other previous winners.
Of more interest from a future punting perspective was the performance of Merano in the Toulouse maiden won by Curaro Light. This mightn’t be a bad little race as it was run at a strong pace and featured three runners who had been disappointing favourites on their debuts. All ran better here giving the form a solid look. Conversely Merano had shaped quite well on his debut when third behind Morris Bonas over 1100m at Tarbes, but ran below that form here. I still found the performance encouraging as he again showed signs of inexperience and doesn’t appear to have the pace to get competitive at this sort of trip. I notice that he has an entry in a claimer over 1400m at Compiegne on 4th June and I would expect him to go very close if running there.
Two newcomers caught the eye in the 1200m maiden at Lyon-Parilly on 27th May. In a field of 12, the three runners with previous experience finished first, second and fifth giving the form a solid look and the two eye-catchers occupied third and fourth. La Combattante was smartly into her stride and led the field for the first 1000m before tiring in the last 200m and not being able to hold off her more experienced rivals. Frank Blondel was quick to accept the situation once she was headed and she wasn’t given a hard time here. She is the first foal of a dam who had sufficient pace and class to be Group 3 placed over 1000m so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her drop back in trip next time.
By contrast Who Knows didn’t have the pace to get on terms here. Sent off favourite she was noted travelling very well throughout the race but when asked to quicken by Theo Bachelot over 300m out she just took a little while to get organised before staying on very nicely without ever mounting a serious challenge, or being put under maximum pressure. Given that her dam was 2011 Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Zain Al Bolden (rated 107 at best) it’s perhaps not surprising that this 6f was on the sharp side for her. Her decent half-brother Chevalier Cathare (trained like Who Knows, by Stephane Wattel) also did all his winning at 10f+.
The two maidens confined to unraced horses at La Teste Buch turned into a bit of a Christophe Ferland benefit with him saddling the first two home in the colts race and the winner in the fillies contest. As mentioned before these races are very hard to assess. They tend to be slowly run affairs so you can’t use the time as much of a gauge as to the level of form and it is very unusual to see many of the runners ridden with the same amount of vigour as in similar UK races. Having said that there are still some performances that need to be noted and in the fillies race I liked the run of Ouraika. Quite well backed at 7/2 she bounced out of the stalls and, although not able to match the turn of foot shown by winner Accakaba she had the rest of the field well strung out (3 lengths back to the third and the same margin to the fourth). This home bred filly’s half-sister has won a 3yo maiden over 1400m this season and Khalid At Attiyah will no doubt be looking for at least that level of success with this daughter of Zelzal.
Notebook selections have taken a right hammering in the last week or two and I’m a little perplexed as to why they are running so badly. Generally the horses I note are those that have had an educational run first time out and/or look capable of improvement but for whatever reason that improvement has not been forthcoming. Perhaps the dry spell and resulting faster ground is a factor.
Be that as it may here are half a dozen more that have caught my eye this week,
Al Romy went in the notebook on her debut when claimer ridden behind stablemate Diadema and again ran well against that rival at Salon-Provence halving the deficit this time. Should be ready to win next time and take particular note if Sylvain Ruis or Franck Blondel take the ride.
In the unraced colts race at Chantilly on Prix du Jockey Club day I liked the first two, although they ran contrasting races. The winner Solotov, trained by Eoghan O’Neill, was in the front rank throughout and powered away in the last 300m to win impressively. This half brother to Donjuan Triumphant could be smart and he holds an entry in the Group 3 Prix Du Bois at this course on 20th June.
Meanwhile Toimy Son was dropped out in rear by Gregory Benoist before being brought down the centre with a long steady run to cut down all his rivals bar the winner who was long gone. His SP of 18/1 suggests he wasn’t fully wound up here and improvement is likely.
Over at Nantes, Atanasio was possibly the unluckiest loser of the season so far. Having been held up, he was making good headway to challenge when jumping a path 200m out and losing his momentum, recovering quickly he then hung badly right in the last 100m but still only went down by a head to the more experienced Pedro Chop. This form is rather modest, the winner having been beaten in a claimer last time but a similar provincial maiden is there for the taking.
Also in this race Ludovic Gadbin’s Everqueen ran a promising race. Very green and just niggled along throughout, she never really threatened but still finished barely 2 lengths behind the winner and could undoubtedly have finished closer with a more energetic ride. Gadbin’s runners have been going well and he is sure to place this daughter of Recorder to advantage.
In the 1200m fillies maiden at St Cloud my comments in running for Frederick Rossi’s newcomer Red Smile were as follows: “dwelt and went right start, pulled hard in rear until steady headway under gentle ride in straight, never near to challenge, very eye-catching”.
She has a long term entry in the valuable sales race at Longchamp over the Arc weekend but assuming she learns to settle better she is surely going to be picking up a couple of races before then on this evidence.
A rather quiet week on the notebook front but three new additions:
The unraced fillies at Compiegne on Monday looked quite a nice bunch on paper and the one that I noted was one of the less well bred runners,Acer Alley. This daughter of Siyouni lost a little ground at the start when edging to the right but Olivier Peslier gave her plenty of time to recover getting her settled at the rear of the main group. Coming down the centre of the track in the straight Peslier just nudged her along with another day in mind, the filly staying on well to finish a never nearer fourth.
She holds an engagement at St Cloud on Monday 21st (as does last week’s big eyecatcher Red Smile) with Peslier again taking the ride.
La Teste Buch in South West France has been having a little festival of its own this week although I suspect top hats and morning suits have been thin on the ground.
On Thursday Shamdark ran right away with the claimer on his debut and gave me the strong impression that he is better than this grade. The placed horses do hold the form down a little but the winning margin of 3 lengths could have been doubled and I think there is improvement to come. He was subsequently claimed for 25k by Lars Hasse so it remains to be seen where he goes next.
Meanwhile in Friday’s race for unraced fillies Christophe Ferland was looking for his fourth juvenile winner from only eight runners and there was plenty of confidence behind his Copie sent off at odds-on. She was a little keen early on but made up ground quite smoothly early in the straight before hanging a little to the right. She seemed to get half a length in front and then idle and just got run out of it close home by the more experienced Barrua with Maxime Guyon trying to win and give her an easy time and not quite getting the job done.
I don’t expect any similar mistakes next time. It’s worth noting that her half sister Anasia was also beaten first time out before winning two of her next four races and reaching the frame in two group races.
Also in the fillies maiden Djenaba showed a glimmer of promise, never being asked for much of an effort in the characteristic Jean-Claude Rouget style. The stable’s two year olds still haven’t fired yet (just one winner from about 20 runs) so this one may need another outing before she is ready to win and she is best watched rathe than backed next time.
A better week for the notebook with Green Fly, Acer Alley, Toimy Son & Who Knows all winning There were some losers too of course including Super Khali and Red Smile both of whom ran well enough in defeat to suggest they remain of interest.
No sooner had I suggested that Jean=Claude Rouget’s runners weren’t in the best of form than he saddles the first and second in a newcomers race at La Teste Buch. The winner Ataared was very impressive, travelling well just behind the leaders and coming nicely clear in the last 200m. Rouget also trained the dam Alnajmah to win her first two starts as a juvenile in 2015 and Ataared’s half-sister Monaawara to win last year so knows this family well. I suspect she will be brought along slowly, taking in a Classe 2 event before attempting group class.
The winner of the colts race was even more impressive. Everyone seemed to know that Making Moovies was decent as he was sent off 11/10f in this field of debutants and he had hardly more than an exercise canter here in a time half a second quicker than the fillies. He is very well bred, being out of a Group 2 winner (over 2100m at three) and a half-brother to three other winners, two of whom have been group placed (again over 2100m).
One note of caution for both of these wide margin scorers. The ground at La Teste was officially “4.6 Lourd” which is the heaviest ground we’ve seen so far this year. Whether they can reproduce this form on quicker ground remains to be seen but I will certainly be giving them the chance to do so.
Sunday Best was another newcomer to catch the eye, this time at Chantilly. The 1100m trip would have been on the sharp side for this filly who comes from a good middle distance family of the Aga Khan and she was a little outpaced at halfway. Olivier Peslier allowed her time to find her stride and she was going on again nicely at the finish. Until this week Francois Graffard had only had three juvenile runners this season suggesting they have been slow coming to hand. He has had two winners this week and I suspect this yard will now be one to keep on side in the next few weeks.
Chantilly also played host to the first group race of the season the Prix Du Bois over 1200m. The third and fourth , Best Sixteen and Anterselva have been on the go since the first week of the season and whilst they are pretty exposed they set a good benchmark for the form. Kevin Ryan’s Atomic Force must be pretty smart to beat them by upwards of 5 lengths and his post-race rating of 86 is comfortably the highest of the season so far.
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