10 April 2017
Crédit Photos : Scoopdyga.com
André Fabre saddled four winners on Monday at Saint-Cloud, sweeping both Group3s and the Listed race in the process.
Monday, April 10, 2017, Maisons-Laffitte. - André Fabre's Super Monday began with 3yo Last Kingdom (Frankel)'s first win in the Prix Good Luck maiden. Ridden by Prince Faisal retained jockey Silvestre de Sousa, the colt followed German raider Empire of the Star (Siyouni) and took over to score handily. The female version, the Prix Balbonella, also run over a straight mile, went to another Frankel foal, Middle East (Frankel), a filly owned by Qatar's Al Shaqab Racing, purchased €800,000 € at Arqana breeze up sales last year and trained by Jean-Claude Rouget in Pau.
The Prix Djebel (Gr3, colts) and the Prix Imprudence (Gr3, fillies) traditionally stand as French prep races for the Guineas at Newmarket (Gr1), but also for the French equivalent championships.
Al Wukair (Dream Ahead) was all the more expected in the Prix Djebel since two fillies he had beaten in Deauville in his second success last year, Gold Luck (Redoute's Choice) and Hebah (Sea the Stars), had just distinguished themselves in the Prix Vanteaux (Gr3), on Sunday at Chantilly. Even though last year's Qatar Grix Jean-Luc Lagardère (Gr1) winner National Defense (Invincible Spirit) was in the field, the André Fabre-trained colt remained odds-on all the way to the start. Yet halfway over the 7-furlongs trip, Al Wukair seemed in trouble, while National Defense, rather on the contrary, was handily taking the lead. However, the favorite finally got into the race and passed the field in full throttle to beat National Defense by a length.
Purchased as a yearling for £200,000 in England, the winner's 2nd dam Caerlina (Caerleon) won the Prix de Diane-French Oaks in 1991. His sire Dream Ahead (Diktat) was a very fast horse, winner of five Group 1 races, including the Prix Morny (Gr1) at 2 in Deauville and the Prix de la Forêt (Gr1). This young sire is based in France at the Haras de Grandcamp in Normandy.
André Fabre then saddled the winner of the Prix Imprudence, Via Ravenna (Raven's Pass), stepping up from her victorious debut on March 2 in Chantilly. Via Ravenna is owned by her breeder, Haras de Saint-Pair (Andreas Putsch). The stud farm has had plenty to celebrate lately, since Prix La Force (Gr3) winner Graphite (Shamardal) was also bred there, while a week earlier, Jimmy Two Times (Kendargent) won the Prix Edmond Blanc (Gr3) for the same connections ! Via Ravenna is out of good race mare Via Milano (Singspiel), winner of Group 3 and fourth in the French 1,000 Guineas before entering stud, where she has already given four winners, two at Group level now.
André Fabre's fine day ended with a fourth success, that of the returning Ultra (Manduro) over the Prix Jacques Laffitte (L)'s 1,800 meters straight course. Winner of the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (Gr1) in 2015, Ultra was highly anticipated last year but he ran only twice, without success. This return to the foreground of the Godolphin 4yo follows that of Cloth of Stars (Sea The Stars) for the same connections.
Before the start of the meeting, André Fabre looked upon two of his most promising horses for this classic season, Wertheimer's Akihiro (Deep Impact), unbeaten in two outings last year, and Plumatic (Dubawi), a good winner for his debut recently at Saint-Cloud. Both are entered in most French major championships this year ...