Tag Archive for: Andre Fabre

Fabre fires twin assault on Dahlia Stakes

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Andre Fabre is double-handed in the Howden Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket on Sunday with Life In Motion and Hidden Dimples both bidding for Group Two honours.

The master trainer has won the nine-furlong contest twice before, with Esoterique in 2014 and Usherette two years later.

Like Usherette, Life In Motion is owned by Godolphin and has won four of her last five outings, progressing nicely with each run.

Hidden Dimples, who will be ridden by Ryan Moore with Mickael Barzalona on Life In Motion, finished third behind her stablemate last time out in a Listed race at ParisLongchamp – but Fabre expects the distance between the pair to be narrowed on this occasion.

“It looks an interesting race for both of them. They both ran in a Listed race at Longchamp last time out, which Life In Motion won,” said Fabre.

“They are two nice mares. Hidden Dimples spent the winter at the farm, so she needed the race much more than the other one. She’s a solid mare.

“They should both run well. Life In Motion did well at three and that has continued. She did not have an injury last summer, there were just no suitable races for her and then I brought her back in the autumn to win twice.”

With The Moonlight last ran in America
With The Moonlight last ran in America (Tim Goode/PA)

Charlie Appleby’s With The Moonlight, last seen finishing second in a Grade One in America will also sport the Godolphin blue.

Roger Varian’s Al Husn is unbeaten but this represents a major step up in class. She is owned by Shadwell, who also run the John and Thady Gosden-trained Shaara.

Ralph Beckett’s Prosperous Voyage, second in the 1000 Guineas last season and winner of the Falmouth, also runs with Astral Beau, Random Harvest and Via Sistina completing the line up.

Fabre planning Lockinge bid for Tribalist

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Andre Fabre has confirmed Tribalist is being aimed at the Al Shaqab Lockinge at Newbury on May 20.

A total of 20 horses remain in contention for the Group One following the latest scratching stage, including the John and Thady Gosden-trained fillies Inspiral and Laurel.

However, they will have to contend with Fabre’s Godolphin-owned four-year-old, who produced a career-best effort on Monday when making all in the Group Two Prix du Muguet at Saint-Cloud.

Tribalist finished third behind Charlie Appleby’s Modern Games in the French 2000 Guineas last year and the pair could renew rivalry.

“Tribalist is in the Lockinge and all going well, he’s going to run there,” said Fabre.

“It was a good performance, he looked in control all the way.

“The only time we have tried to make him settle he pulled very hard and finished nowhere. Since then we have let him race close to the pace. That’s his style of racing and it suits him, there’s no need to change.

“I wouldn’t be worried about running him on better ground, he acts on any ground.”

Simon and Ed Crisford’s Jadoomi, third in the QEII when last seen, William Haggas’ My Prospero – a non-runner at Ascot on Wednesday due to an unsatisfactory scope – and last year’s runner-up Real World are also among the 20.

Greenland enters Classic reckoning with Prix Greffulhe win

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Aidan O’Brien won the Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud for the first time as Greenland pulled out all the stops to earn a possible crack at the French Derby.

Ridden by Christophe Soumillon, the 6-5 favourite was always close to the pace set by Harry Way, and the duo became embroiled in a titanic tussle up the home straight, with nothing to separate the pair until the winning post – where the judge delivered a nose verdict in the Irish raider’s favour.

Owners Coolmore won the race with the Andre Fabre-trained Pour Moi on the way to Derby success in 2011, but whereas Pour Moi’s finest hour came at Epsom, Greenland could be heading to Chantilly on June 4 with O’Brien favouring the Prix du Jockey Club for his son of Saxon Warrior.

He said: “Christophe was very happy with him. He said he got there and waited a little bit.

“He said he’d like better ground and that he felt like a horse with plenty of class and he thought that he was a French Derby horse.”

Elsewhere on the card, Fabre’s Tribalist enhanced his reputation with an all-the-way success in the Prix du Muguet.

The Godolphin-owned colt had downed The Revenant when making all over the same course and distance on reappearance and put further daylight between himself and Francis-Henri Graffard’s 2020 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner this time as he followed up under a fine front-running ride from Mickael Barzalona.

It was Fabre’s 10th win in the Group Three contest and his latest winner holds an entry for Newbury’s Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes on May 20.

Fabre targets French Oaks with Pensee Du Jour

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Andre Fabre has Classic aspirations for Pensee Du Jour after the exciting filly maintained her unbeaten record with a thoroughly impressive display in the Group Three Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud.

The daughter of Camelot made a big impression when making scoring by four lengths on her racecourse debut on the all-weather at Chantilly in February, and successfully stepped up to Listed class with a seven-length verdict at Saint-Cloud last month.

Pensee Du Jour was a hot favourite to complete her hat-trick under Bauyrzhan Murzabayev and was well on top as she passed the post clear of Andrew Balding’s Doncaster maiden winner Sea Of Roses, with Be Happy third for Aidan O’Brien.

Fabre considers the French Oaks at Chantilly an “obvious” target for the winner, but could first test her Group One credentials in the Prix Saint-Alary at ParisLongchamp on May 14.

He said: “She made the running, but is able to accelerate as well if needed.

“She has a huge action and I was pleased with her performance.

“The Prix de Diane (French Oaks) is an obvious target for a filly of this calibre. She might go for the Prix Saint-Alary in the meantime, but we’ll see.”

Fabre completed a big-race double in the Prix Edmond Blanc, with the Godolphin-owned Tribalist making a winning reappearance.

Popular veteran The Revenant was a warm order to claim back-to-back victories in the Group Three prize, while Ralph Beckett sent dual French Group One winner Angel Bleu back across the Channel.

As per usual The Revenant gave it his all, but Tribalist – third in last year’s French 2000 Guineas and subsequently victorious in Listed company – was well on top at the line in the hands of Mickael Barzalona. Angel Bleu was a disappointing sixth of seven.

“He’s always been a nice horse and has got stronger over the winter,” Fabre said of Tribalist.

“He needed a bit of time, but now he is quite strong you can make more use of him. I was quite pleased.

“There is a Group Two coming in a couple of weeks’ time that he could go for.”