VALYRA DENIES BEAUTY PARLOUR IN PRIX DE DIANE

Click above to watch a Valyra winning the Prix de Diane Longines (Gr1)…
(Image : Features - Footage : Equidia)

PRIX DE DIANE (Group 1)
Chantilly, Turf, 2100m
17 June 2012

His Highness The Aga Khan’s tally of winners in the G1 Prix de Diane stood at a record-equaling six prior to yesterday’s renewal at Chantilly, and the supplemented Valyra (GB) (Azamour) came up trumps to help her owner-breeder to new heights.

Sent off a 28-1 outsider of the trio racing in the emerald green, the unbeaten bay, who came into this race on the back of a 10-furlong course conditions event victory, was steadied from the outset before being settled in the rear by Johnny Murtagh. As the even-money favorite Beauty Parlour (GB) (Deep Impact) was committed by Christophe Soumillon at the top of the straight, Valyra was the sole challenger, and after subduing that rival with a furlong remaining, drew away to score by 3/4 of a length.

“It is always great to win the Diane, as I love this racecourse and everything involved around Chantilly,” The Aga Khan said. “I must congratulate the whole team, as everyone is doing a remarkable job.”

All of The Aga Khan’s previous winners of this Classic were trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, and that conditioner’s duo of Sagawara (GB) (Shamardal) and Dalkala (Giant’s Causeway) understandably occupied far more prominent spots in the betting. What Valyra had in her favor was the fact that she had been supplemented by Jean-Claude Rouget despite the presence of that stakes-winning pair. Stable confidence must have been strong, as her debut win in a 9 1/2-furlong contest at Bordeaux-le-Bouscat April 14 and subsequent score, albeit impressive in nature, in a 10-furlong conditions event here last time May 18, left her some way short of the required standard on paper.

Any suggestion she would be used as a pacemaker, as her half-sister Valasyra (Fr) (Sinndar) was in this two years ago, was settled instantly as Murtagh steadied her out of the gate to race with only two behind. Traveling strongly as Beauty Parlour was taken past the front-running Kissed (Ire) (Galileo) with three furlongs remaining, she needed only to be shaken up to reel in the market leader and show determination to belie her inexperience.

Her victory saw her owner-breeder surpass Auguste Lupin’s six renewals and join an elite club of homebred Diane heroines including the great Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar), and the Aga Khan was clearly delighted with the achievement afterwards.

“We had three fillies in here, each with their own qualities and good chances,” he said. “Each jockey had different instructions, and they carried them out to the letter, with Valyra proving best. She is a filly who needs to find her rhythm in a race, and that’s what Johnny let her do here. He had flown to Pau to ride her in a piece of work on Monday and was delighted with what he saw, and was very keen to ride her.”

Jean-Claude Rouget added, “She was very immature last year, but had made tremendous progress and improvement in the spring, and when they come to hand so quickly, it is always a good sign. When the filly won last time, I thought she could be one for the Diane, as she was so impressive and confirmed that day all that she had been showing us at home. It wasn’t until Monday, when Johnny worked her, that we decided to supplement, as she was brilliant that morning. I am very proud to win this for His Highness, as it is rare to see major owners putting their trust in provincial trainers. We will take our time to decide where she goes next, as we have nothing in mind.”

Beauty Parlour’s trainer Elie Lellouche said of the runner-up, “I think I should take the blame for that defeat, as I did not choose the right pacemaker for the filly, and she was forced to come too early in the race. She had already done too much when she was challenged, so it was not a bad performance, and we’ll take our time to see how she comes out of the race before we decide what to do next.”

Francois Rohaut added of the third Rjwa (Ire) (Muhtathir), “I am delighted with that - she always runs her race whereas Trois Lunes (Fr) (Manduro) showed bad temperament, and we will have to try and correct that now.”

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

PRIX DE DIANE : JEWEL UNTO ITSELF

Click above to watch a promo for Equidia coverage of the 2012 Prix de Diane Longines…
(Image : Longines - Footage : Equidia)

PRIX DE DIANE (Group 1)
Chantilly, Turf, 2100m
17 June 2012

Lucas Marquardt - It is one of the crown jewels of French racing, a Classic that’s been sought after, and won, by queens and princes, sheikhs and shipping magnates. It’s the G1 Prix de Diane, held each June for 3-year-old fillies going 2100 meters at Chantilly, and it indeed has grown to a lofty stature since a humble beginning back in 1843, when a sparse crowd watched Favored Nativa (Fr) become the first of trainer Henry Jennings’s record nine winners.

Since then, a parade of champions has claimed the Diane, France’s most important race for 3-year-old fillies. The honour roll includes the storied dual French champion Pearl Cap (Fr), winner in 1931, who that year became the first filly to win the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe over males. It includes the 1973 heroine Allez France, also winner of the Arc during a 1974 season that earned her the title of Horse of the Year. And it includes the likes of Zarkava (Ire), whose Diane/Arc double in 2008 made her Europe’s Horse of the Year.

But the allure of the Diane is more than just a talented roster of winners. It’s a race which is uniquely French, oozing style and charisma even more so than the country’s most prestigious event, the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.  

Part of the Diane’s panache comes from the people themselves, a mix of French urbane and provincial charm, and part from the beauty of the surroundings. Chantilly ranks as one of France’s and maybe the world’s, most attractive racecourses, sitting within the Chateau de Chantilly and boasting a 1,900 hectare training centre edging Chantilly forest.

Chantilly opened its doors in 1834, and the grandstand, dating back to 1879, was designed by famed architect Pierre Jerome Honore Daumet. The adjacent Great Stables, imposing in its beauty and sitting prominently on one of the track’s right-hand turns, pre-dates the track by over 110 years, and was commissioned by a duke who requested that his architect build a stable suitable of his rank, on the assumption that he would be reincarnated as a horse in his next life.

The impeccable bloodlines of the Diane’s winners represent the sport’s most esteemed breeders: Marcel Boussac, Baron Edouard de Rothschild, Baron Maurice de Rothschild, Daniel Wildenstein, Stavros Niarchos, HH Aga Khan IV, Sheikh Mohammed, Khalid Abdullah, and many others.

Will this year’s Prix de Diane feature any fillies who will go on to star on the first Sunday in October at Longchamp? Time will tell. But what’s the rush-this Sunday, Chantilly features a Classic jewel unto itself.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

For more information, please visit :

www.prix-de-diane.com

IGUGU : A JEWEL BY ANY OTHER NAME

Igugu
(Photo : JC Photographics)

“ANDRE MACDONALD…
A RACING INSTITUTION”

“Igugu” means treasure or a jewel in Zulu, and this one’s appropriately named. Buyers will tell you, naming Australian yearlings can be a nightmare, given their 16 000-odd foals a year and racing’s prohibition against two horses with the same name.

So, if you want to register in a hurry (they have to get through our registrar, as well as the Oz Keeper of the Studbook,) a Zulu name generally gets the job done, because they’re not enormously popular Down Under.

Igugu happens to be a daughter of the European Champion sire, Galileo (destined to pick up his 2^nd title this year) from the Aga Khan family of the world’s best racehorse of 2008, the unbeaten Zarkava, and yesterday at the Vaal, she did both her name and her pedigree justice.

Four lengths was the margin of demolition, and it’s entirely conceivable that by Sunday morning, the 7^th November, she might’ve repaid in full the hefty R1 million Andre Macdonald shelled out for her from the Summerhill draft at last year’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run sale, when she lines up for the R1,5 million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup prize that goes with the race of the associated name

Macdonald is a racing institution, and if anyone deserves it, he does. He’s been around for decades, and the extent of his financial commitment to the game matches the longevity of his involvement.

While it’s been documented before, it’s worth repeating : “Mac” ended up with this one (Igugu) at a round million after bowing out at R2 million for Uthawini (another Galileo filly) following a protracted dual with one of Dubai’s Sheikhs. Here was a man, like us of modest beginnings, taking on one of the most powerful dynasties on earth, and giving best only when the cash register had rung up the second million. And then, as if justice had decreed it, ending with what looks like a bit of a star in the making - or should we say, a “jewel”.

For more information please visit :
www.summerhill.co.za

GOLDIKOVA : GRADE 1 WIN NUMBER NINE IN QUEEN ANNE

Click above to watch
Goldikova winning the 2010 Queen Anne Stakes (Gr1)
(Photo and Footage : Euro Sport)

QUEEN ANNE STAKES (Gr1)
Royal Ascot, 15 June 2010

Goldikova made it Grade 1 win number nine today when securing victory in the GBP250,000 Queen Anne Stakes (G1) over a mile on the opening day of Royal Ascot 2010.

After two years in the limelight, it is hard to believe that Goldikova could have been in any rival’s shadow. But in Zarkava, she had a formidable foe during her three-year-old campaign. Following two defeats by Zarkava in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (G1) and the Prix de Diane (G1), Goldikova was to emerge as a force in her own right with the two going their separate ways thereafter. Wins in the Prix Rothschild (G1) at Deauville and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1) presaged a first Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) triumph that year and at four she annexed the Rothschild and BC Mile again and added the Falmouth Stakes (G1) and the Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) to her tally for good measure. Going an extended nine furlongs in the Prix d’Ispahan (G1) at Longchamp last time on 23 May, Goldikova showed the same magic and achieved the same result when warding off Byword as the pair pulled a country mile clear of the remainder. 

Always traveling with gusto behind the positively ridden Calming Influence and Rip Van Winkle throughout the early stages of the 2010 Queen Anne Stakes today, the bay quickly had the measure of the latter as she glided to the fore at the quarter pole.

It looked as if she would turn the contest into a cakewalk with Paco Boy and Richard Hughes still hemmed in at the rear, but that impression was short-lived when her chief rival was eventually freed with a furlong to race and her margin was being eroded late as Paco Boy found wings wide of the rail.

Despite the runner-up’s huge chasing effort, Goldikova was able to stick her head out against the fence and hold her lead without Olivier Peslier being overly hard on her.

“I felt she was at her best today and she showed it,” trainer Freddy Head added. “We had a perfect run. Now we are going to go to Deauville and run in the Prix Rothschild (G1) and Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) on 1 August and 15 August.”

This win leaves Goldikova one short of the record of 10 victories at the highest level by Miesque, whom Freddie Head partnered, and while comparisons are inevitable, the trainer of the new French sensation was not showing any favoritism.

“It is unfair to compare the two, as they are quite different,” he added. “Miesque was a brilliant two-year-old and three-year-old, whereas Goldikova took a bit more time in coming, but I think she is tougher and stays better than Miesque, and is easier to ride.”

Trainer Richard Hannon was far from dejected after the effort of Paco Boy. “He lost absolutely nothing in defeat - he has that one kick and one burst of speed and has to be ridden like that,” said Hannon. “Richard (Hughes) has given him a super ride, and Goldikova is probably the best racemare we’ve ever seen. It was probably the best race of the meeting, and he’s been beaten a head, so we’re very proud of him. Richard said he thought he had her, but she kept finding a little bit, and that will be proven in the next race when we take her on again.”

RACE RESULT

#	Horse	Jockey	Trainer
1	GOLDIKOVA	Olivier Peslier	Freddy Head
2	PACO BOY	Richard Hughs	Richard Hannon
3	DREAM EATER	Jimmy Fortune	Andrew Balding
4	ZACINTO	Ryan Moore	Sir Michael Stoute
5	DALGHAR	Christophe Lemaire	Alain Royer-Dupre
6	RIP VAN WINKLE	Johnny Murtagh	Aidan O’Brien
7	OUQBA	Richard Hills	Barry Hills
8	CAT JUNIOR	Frankie Dettori	Brian Meehan
9	CALMING INFLUENCE	Ahmed Ajtebi	Mahmood Al Zarooni

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

SHOW OF WINNERS ON AGAIN FOR BREEDER GOSS

Mick Goss
(Photo : Leigh Willson)

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE 2009

Following is an extract from an article written by David Mollet, which appeared in yesterday’s Business Day.

“If popular American talkshow host Jay Leno went head to head with SA Champion Breeder Mick Goss he might battle to come out on top.

Leno never missed a beat in his recent interview with President Barack Obama, but he would have to do his homework to match strides with Goss on the subject of breeding.

Goss and his Summerhill Stud entourage arrived in Johannesburg at the weekend to put the finishing touches to next Sunday’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale at the TBA complex in Germiston.

The Mooi River-based breeder was in his usual ebullient form yesterday. He said : “The list of top horses that have emerged from this sale are all the adverts we need. They include 2009 champion sprinter Rebel King, Gold Cup winner Desert Links, Garden Province Stakes heroine Outcome and dual Guineas winner Imbongi.

“The Summerhill draft at the Ready To Run is the best source, pound for pound, of big race performers anywhere.

“You might not be able to beat Bill Gates in the boardroom, but on Saturdays at Turffontein, you can level the playing fields,” said Goss. At last year’s Ready To Run sale, a total of 38 of the Summerhill draft sold for R100,000 and under. However, buyers might have to dig deeper this year due to some top-class pedigrees and the improvement in economic sentiment.

One of Goss’s top picks is Igugu (lot 114), an Aussie-bred filly by Galileo out of the Irish mare, Zarinia. The youngster hails from the family of last year’s champion European filly, Zarkava, so auctioneer Mike Killassy will be aware he is likely to be bombarded with bids.

Trainer Mike de Kock is hopeful of a big run from Havasha in Saturday’s R1,5m Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup, and victory for the Kahal colt would provide a big boost for his half- sister, Boysenberry (lot 28). The filly is by Computaform Sprint victor, Cataloochee.

A big threat to Havasha could be Pierre Jourdan - a R60,000 Ready To Run purchase last year - who went into the notebooks of many pundits when given the verdict over another graduate, Smanjemanje, at Turffontein 10 days ago.

Summerhill graduate Mystic has proved a bargain, with this R90,000 buy boasting earnings of R400,000. The six-year-old will bid to add to that total when he takes on nine rivals in the fifth race at the Vaal today.”