Tag Archive for: Saint-Cloud

Nashwa handed Prix Corrida target

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Nashwa is being prepared for a trip to France later this month after connections opted to sidestep the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Stakes at York on Thursday.

The dual Group One-winning filly has been slow to come to hand this term and will make a belated reappearance in the Prix Corrida, a Group Two contest over an extended 10 furlongs at Saint-Cloud on May 28.

As a three-year-old she finished a close-up third in the Oaks, before gaining compensation in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly.

Under regular rider Hollie Doyle, the John and Thady Gosden-trained daughter of Frankel then earned a second top-class success in the Nassau at Goodwood.

She fell agonisingly short when beaten by Place Du Carrousel in the Prix de l’Opera at ParisLongchamp and had to settle for fourth behind Oaks victor Tuesday in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland.

Owned by Imad Al Sagar, Nashwa holds Group One entries in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Pretty Polly at the Curragh and in the Eclipse.

However, Al Sagar’s racing manager, Lord Grimthorpe, explained much will depend on how she fares on her seasonal bow.

“She just hasn’t quite come,” he said. “She worked nicely on Saturday morning and I think we will probably try to head for the Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud at the end of the month.

“Obviously, that will give us a good guide as to where we’re at and if she looks good enough and is in good enough form, I’m sure Imad would like to go to the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.”

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.”

Angel Bleu hunting further French glory

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Angel Bleu returns to Saint-Cloud attempting to maintain his unbeaten record on the continent in the Prix Edmond Blanc on Saturday.

Ralph Beckett’s son of Dark Angel struck twice on French soil as a two-year-old, firstly landing the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere before doubling his Group One haul in the Criterium International 20 days later.

Despite failing to find the scoresheet during his three-year-old season, he continued to hold his own in esteemed company, finishing third in the Greenham and also not disgraced behind Baaeed in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

Following an encouraging return at Wolverhampton, Angel Bleu will now be partnered by Ryan Moore as he returns to the French capital for Group Three duty – tasked with taking on Francis-Henri Graffard’s dual race winner and six-time course scorer, The Revenant.

“We were very pleased with his run at Wolverhampton,” said Jamie McCalmont, racing manager for Angel Bleu’s owner Marc Chan.

“The draw wasn’t the best, but everyone was delighted with his performance and we’re just building up from there. The horse seems to thrive on racing and likes the course, so we may as well run and keep going.

“When you look back at his run in the Sussex Stakes, on ground he didn’t like, and where he came out of the race with an injury – Baaeed was probably at his peak at that point and it wasn’t really a bad effort. Other than the two times at Royal Ascot, the horse has never run a bad race.

“The Revenant has won this race twice and on that ground, at that distance, it will be no egg and spoon race.

“It’s not an easy race, but it’s kind of an obvious spot and Ryan Moore right now is kind of walking on water – he’s in a zone he has never been in before.”

Moore is also in action on the card in the Group Three Prix Penelope where he has the chance to continue his global purple patch aboard Aidan O’Brien’s Camelot filly, Be Happy.

Jockey Ryan Moore has two rides in Group Three contests at Saint-Cloud on Saturday
Jockey Ryan Moore has two rides in Group Three contests at Saint-Cloud on Saturday (Brian Lawless/PA)

“Be Happy will enjoy the expected soft ground and she is a filly we like,” the jockey told Betfair.

“She won well on her debut in testing ground at Cork and she probably didn’t get the run of the race when stepped up in class at the Curragh next time. This longer trip will suit the Camelot filly.

“We also have Fillies’ Mile fifth Library in here and she certainly has her chance – it’s a very good race for the grade, with Pensee Du Jour an obvious threat to all after her runaway win here last time.”