20 September 2021
Photo scoopdyga.com
September 17, 2021, Chantilly Racecourse (Oise). - After five French wins in succession, the Prix Bertrand de Tarragon (Gr3) goes back to Britain with a Frenchbred, Waliyak (Le Havre), trained by in-form Newmarket handler Roger Varian. Not much suspense in the end as the filly clearly dominated the 9-furlong race, leaving the 3-year-old Sweet Lady (Lope de Vega) and the 5-year-old All Rumours (Shamardal) at one length.
Aged 4, she was racing for the 14th time, and the first on this side of the Channel. A maiden winner at 2 she toughened up in handicaps at 3 and went on into bigger events such a a main handicap at Royal Ascot, and she always made the frame, winning a Listed-contest at Pontefract before a nice place in a Group 3 at Sandown behind Saffron Beach (New Bay), the 2020 Guineas 2nd.
Her sire Le Havre (Noverre)'s offspring has already won 674 races, and gave many outstanding fillies and mares such as Wonderful Tonight, Villa Marina, La Cressonnière, Avenir Certain …
It's an Aga Khan family. The winner's dam Vadariya (Sea The Stars) won twice and she's out of Vadapolina (Trempolino), also a sister to Veda (Dansili), a French Guineas 2nd.
Oceanic Bloodstock & White Birch Farm bought the mare at the Arqana 2020 Breeding sales for €300,000. She'd been sold the previous year by Jeremy Brummitt for €180,000 and also in 2015, out of training, when Broadhurst Agency (Laurent Benoît) bought her for €180,000. Waliyak was sold in 2018 for €240,000 to Oliver St Lawrence.