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News In Brief of French Racing.
On Sunday 13 September, the Bold Eagle sired Bold Flyer won the Norwegian Criterium at Bjerke racecourse. He recorded 1'13"0 for the 2100m delivering his fifth win from seven race starts. Driven by Erland Rennesvik, Bold Flyer is trained Kim Pedersen. Previous French stallions to have sired winners of the Norwegian Criterium include Cocktail Jet and Offshore Dream. Aetos Kronos, another of the Bold Eagle progeny, finished third in the G1 Swedish Derby earlier in the month.
Bold Eagle was also in the news this week when Gleneagles became the 100th winner for the stallion when landing the prize at Le Croise-Laroche.
Earthlight has been confirmed by his trainer Andre Fabre as a runner in the G1 Prix de la Forêt (1400m) to be run at Longchamp on Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe day. The horse bounced back to the winners' enclosure in the G3 Prix de Pin (1400m) which is the traditional trial race following his first defeat when fourth in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest (1300m) at Deauville in August.
In other news surrounding the G1 Prix de la Forêt (1400m), winner of the past two running's of the race is the mare One Master who is expected to take her place in the field to try and win the race for an unprecedented third time. The André Fabre trained Tropbeau ran second beaten three-quarters of a length in the G3 Prix du Pin behind Earthlight, will also be competing in this race. Another horse listed for the event is German performer Rubaiyat.
Should Longchamp be a wet or a heavy track, the winner of the G1 Preis von Europa (2400m) at Cologne (GER), Donjah, will be an acceptor for the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2400m) on 4 October. Trainer Henk Grewe has stated soft conditions will be a requirement for the filly to produce her best.
Telecaster, winner of the G2 Grand Prix de Deauville (2500m), will also be aimed toward a start in the 'Arc' should there be the possibility of a wet track. UK trainer Hughie Morrison is hoping to secure the services of Christophe Soumillon but this will be dependent on the G1 Prix Vermeille (2400m) winner Tarnawa's connections as to whether they race the filly in the Classic race.
Royal Julius has also been confirmed as a runner in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2400m) following his second in the G2 PremIo Federico Tesio at San Siro in Italy.
Winner of the G1 Criterium des 4ans (2700m) Go On Boy will have his next start at Vincennes at the end of September to qualify for the G1 Grand Prix de UET (2700m), to be held in October.
Trainer John Gosden has confirmed Mishriff will not be competing in this years' G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2400m) and will be targeted for the G1 Champions Stakes (2000m) at Ascot (UK) on 17 October instead.
Multiple Northern European domiciled horses have entered quarantine ahead of travelling to Melbourne, Australia to contest in feature races including the G1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on 17 October and G1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), 3 November. Among those participating is recent G2 Prix Foy (2400m) winner Anthony Van Dyck and G3 Prix de Reux (2500m) victor Skyward trained at Chantilly by Fabrice Chappet. Skyward was fourth beaten two and three-quarter lengths behind Anthony Van Dyck in the G2 Prix Foy (2400m) at Longchamp and going forward for the Melbourne races, meets him on better weight terms. Port Guillaume won the G2 Prix Hocquart (2500m) at Deauville before disappointing in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris (2400m) while San Huberto and Mr Satchmo will also be travelling to Melbourne. All (except Anthony Van Dyck) were bred in France.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Aqana-Osarus October Yearling Sale has been restructured with 784 lots to be offered over five days still in October.
After more than thirty-years in the saddle, jockey Thierry Thulliez has decided to retire. He rode more than 1500 winners throughout his career including 16 Group Ones'.
Earl Simon has not been seen since finishing over the line third (subsequently disqualified) in this years' G1 Elitloppet (1609m) final at Solvalla in Sweden. During the summer he has been standing at Haras de la Sauvagère whilst recovering from a tendon injury. Returning to where he was born and raised he has been in gentle work since August and was recently reintroduced to the pool. He will undergo an ultrasound at the end of September and if the 'all-clear' is received will revisit the racetrack, however, not before the second half of the winter-meeting.
There have been intense Committee discussions during the past week giving consideration for the inclusion of geldings to compete in both the G1 Prix d'Amérique (2700m) and G1 Prix de Cornulier (2700m). Many philosophical arguments were put forward including identifying the importance for breeding with further referral and consideration to be given to the subject.
Grand Prix d'Amérique race day has been revamped with an emphasis on International races and to make it a meeting of Champions. Initiatives include the introduction of a new race for four-year-old's along with generational selection events.
France-Galop will donate all entry ticket proceeds for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe meeting to the Association Au Del à des Pistes, an organisation promoting the retraining of racehorses at the end of their careers.
Winner of the 2013 G2 Prix du Bourbonnais and G3 Prix du Luxembourg, Triode de Fellière, secured her first win as a broodmare (but not her first foal) when Hexode de Fellière won at Laval last Friday. The victory was also a further success for Bold Eagle as a sire.
Promising three-year-old Ecrivain will be returning to the racetrack next Friday following an illness. Winner of the G3 Prix des Chènes he was an exciting prospect when last in work finishing second in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau (1600m) in May.
High-class three-year-old French filly Magic Attitude won the G1 Belmont Oaks in the United States last Saturday. She is the winner of the G3 Prix Vanteaux (1800m) and was second in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary (2000m) when trained by Fabrice Chappet. Another French filly, Neige Blanche finished third. She was the winner of the G3 Prix Cléopatre (2200m) at Lyon in June.
Four-time Listed race winner Make A Challenge has been announced to compete in the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye (1000m).
Grantchester won at Craon on the grass on Monday providing Booster Winner with his 100th success as a stallion.
