Maiden winners weekly May (2th-8th)

FLAT

TERRE (f3), FRA by Motivator and Trevise (Anabaa)
Prix de Champlâtreux (Maiden, 3F, 2,000m turf), May 3rd, Chantilly

Owner: Haras du Quesnay, Mrs Cyril Morange
Trainer: Christiane Head-Maarek
Breeder: Haras du Quesnay
Rider: Alexis Badel

Bought back €1.2m at Arqana August Yearling sale, Terre is a sister to the great double Arc winner Treve, from the family of Trillion, her daughter Triptych and her granddaughter Treble, sister to Terre’s 3^rd dam. No other foal out of her dam Trevise has been registered since her birth.

Terre was clearly outgunned by Musawaah (Union Rags) for her 2yo debut over 1,600 meters, and the latter confirmed last week with a Listed win in the Prix de la Seine (L) over 2,200 meters. For her own return however, Terre had taken a promising fourth place behind Middle East (Frankel) in Maisons-Laffitte over 1,600 meters, and she delivered for her first test over ten furlongs. She led all the way on the softened turf and was driven out of reach in the last 300 yards, leaving Jedi Princess (Sea The Stars) settle for 2^nd place three lengths back.

Main entries : Abu Dhabi Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr1), Pour Moi Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary (Gr1), Prix de Diane Longines (Gr1).

CALLED TO THE BAR (g3), (IRE) by Henrythenavigator and Perfect Hedge (Unfuwain)
Prix du Connétable (Maiden, 3c&g, 2,000m turf), May 3^rd, Chantilly

Owner: Fair Salina Ltd, Pia Brandt
Trainer: Pia Brandt
Breeder: Fair Salinia Ltd
Rider: Maxime Guyon

A very welcome victory for Called to the Bar since his brother by Invincible Spirit is in the Arqana breeze-up sale on Friday!  The dam Perfect Hedge won the Prix Pénélope (Gr3) for the same connections, Sven Hanson and Carina Klingberg (Fair Salinia), in France and in Ireland, where she collected in a 10f Listed event before retiring to stud. She has given two winners since, both Listed-placed: Stand My Ground (Cape Cross) and Defrost My Heart (Fastnet Rock). Great jumps sire Poliglote is in the same page, down under the gelding’s third dam, Alexandrie (Val de l'Orne), a winner of a Prix Cleopatre (Gr3).

Just like Terre moments before, Called to the Bar led most of the way and was driven out in the last 300 yards to conquer in a canter. Second to former Derby hopeful Waldgeist, who went on to win the Criterium de Saint-Cloud (Gr1), for his debut at 2, Called to the Bar just failed by a head on 1,600 meters for his seasonal return at Fontainebleau, behind Mask of Time (Holy Roman Emperor).

ARDENODE (g2), IRE by Hellvelyn and Coconut Kisses (Bahamian County)
Prix Epinard (Unraced 2yo, 1,000m), May 6^th, Maisons-Laffitte

Owner: Susan Davis and Melissa O'Neill
Trainer: Eoghan O'Neill
Breeder: R & M Bloodstock
Rider: Fabrice Véron

Sold €8,500 as a weanling and then as a yearling to his current trainer for €15,000, the Irish gelding Ardenode comes from a family of precocious speedsters. His sire Hellvelyn (Ishiguru) himself won his first three outings at 2, including the Coventry Stakes (Gr2) at Royal Ascot. Also in his pedigree is a Middle Park Stakes (Gr1) winner, Stalker, and a Breeders'Cup Sprint (Gr1) 2nd, Friendly Island. And without going that deep, her second dam Royal Mistress (Fasliyev) was third in the Prix Roland de Chambure (L) in Deauville at 2.

Ardenode, first foal out of a dual winner (at 2, of course!), proved just as dedicated for these victorious debuts as he vacated the gate very quickly, went ahead and never let go. He has a little yearling brother by Dream Ahead.

GIPOIA (f3), FRA by Medicean and Really Lovely (Galileo)
Prix Producer (unraced 3F, 2,000m), May 6^th, Maisons-Laffitte

Owner: Haras Bonne Chance
Trainer: Mikel Delzangles
Breeder: Stud RDI
Rider: Vincent Cheminaud

Gipoia was drawn 12 for this first test but she nevertheless bolted out of the stalls to take the lead and held her ground right to the end, pretty safely, ahead of her stablemate Scarlet Lady (Nathaniel), also trained by Mikel Delzangles. The homebred winner races for Philippe Jousset’s Haras Bonne Chance.

She is a daughter of Really Lovely, a Galileo mare who was only able to win once, out of Simply Perfect (Danehill), Gr1-winner in England at 2 and 3.

Gipoia is the second foal out of Really Lovely after Falcao Negro (Canford Cliffs), who won four claimers. Since then an Elusive City filly is born that is in training with Philippe Sogorb for Gérard Samama, who bought her €11,000 as a yearling at the Arqana February sale, and also a yearling by Makfi whose pedigree gets a nice update here!

As for Really Lovely, she was sold €75,000 at Arqana breeding sale last December, in foal to Kendargent.

VOLFANGO (c3), IRE by Dutch Art and Célèbre Vadala (Peintre Célèbre)
Prix Mississippian (unraced 3C&G, 2,000m), May 6^th, Maisons-Laffitte

Owner: Haras de Saint-Pair
Trainer: Freddy Head
Breeder: Haras de Saint-Pair
Rider: Aurélien Lemaître

No less than 15 runners for the male version of the race won by Gipoia, and a trip 1 second quicker for a rather impressive Volfango, who clearly dominated the Godolphin favorite, Bounderby (Manduro).

Half brother to Vadamos (Monsun), one of the best milers of 2016, Volfango was bred by his owner, the Haras de Saint Pair owned by German owner-breeder Andreas Putsch. His dam Célèbre Vadala also gave a colt by Pour Moi sold €80,000 yearling at Arqana last year, and a filly by New Approach.

This broodmare was herself bred by Jean-Luc Lagardère, but raced for the Aga Khan and won twice including the Prix Mélisande (L) in Fontainebleau. She is a sister to Gr1-winner Valixir (Trempolino), to the the dam of both Vadawina (Unfuwain) and Vazira (Sea the Stars), both winners of the Prix Saint-Alary (Gr1), all from the family of Breeders’Cup Mile winner Val Royal (Royal Academy).

Volfango was entered as a weanling to be sold at the Arqana breeding sales but he did not go to Deauville. His dam, on the other hand, had been sold there to Saint-Pair for €525,000, in foal to Selkirk.

EMPIRE OF THE STAR (m3), FRA by Siyouni and Etoile Nocturne (Medicean)
Prix du Bois Renard (maiden, 3C&G, 1,600m), May 7^th, Chantilly

Owner: Rennstall Gestüt Hachtsee
Trainer: Andreas Wohler
Breeder: Gestüt Hachtsee
Rider: Maxime Guyon

Second for his debut at 2 in Germany and then sixth in a Gr3, Empire of the Star made a nice comeback in France this season, having failed by just one length behind Last Kingdom (Frankel), at Maisons-Laffitte in a previous maiden race. Ridden in front by Maxime Guyon on a softer track, he held off everyone this time, and probably more handily than what the neck margin with 2^nd placed Oshayger (Frankel) could hint.

Empire of the Star was bred in France by the Gestüt Hachtsee of Graf von Norman and Dr. Sabine Gräfin, for whom he is racing. Hachtsee bought his dam Étoile Nocturne at Arqana in Saint-Cloud in 2007 for €95,000. Bred by the Haras de Saint-Pair, Etoile Nocturne had made 75,000 € as a yearling, when bought by Suprina (Patricia Boutin) for Chryss O'Reilly's Skymarc Farm. After her purchase by Hachtsee, she joined the late Werner Baltromei and won a 7f Listed and a 6f Gr3 in Germany before entering stud.

Empire of the Star is her second winner after Étoile du Matin (Soldier of Fortune). She also gave a filly by Dabirsim last year.

This family comes from the United States, and one finds dual Arc-winner Alleged there, while Empire of the Star’s 3^rd dam, Mairzy Doates (USA), bred in 1976, won the 1^st ever Japan Cup (Gr1) in 1981 with Cash Asmussen on.

BODY SCULPT (f3), FRA by Kendargent and Vital Body (Gold Away)
Prix de la Prairie (maiden, 3F, 1 600m), May 7^th, Chantilly

Owner: Guy Pariente
Trainer: Satoshi Kobayashi
Breeder: Guy Pariente Holding
Rider: Grégory Benoist

The fillies went almost three seconds faster than the boys there…  Body Sculpt gradually took the edge off her rivals in the last 300 yards and kept Djamba (Dalakhani) at bay to finally prevail for her 7^th attempt. She ran four times at 2, and almost made it at Vichy in the Prix des Jouvenceaux et des Jouvencelles (L) behind Miss Infinity, trained by Mark Johnston. This year however, Body Sculpt started off with a fifth place in the Prix La Camargo (L), then fifth again in the Prix de la Grotte Étalon Kendargent (Gr3), but this time, as she entered the track without her usual hood against a softer opposition, she managed to make her point.

Body Sculpt was bought back € 27,000 as a yearling at Arqana but her dam, Vital Body, was sold for €22,000 to Emerald Bloodstock in foal to a Kendargent colt sold 22,000 Guineas as a weanling at Tattersalls.

Vital Body was bred by Guy Pariente and trained by Henri-Alex Pantall, she was placed in three Provincial Criteriums at 2, which is never an easy task.

Main entries : Abu Dhabi Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr1), Pour Moi Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary (Gr1), Prix de Diane Longines (Gr1).

Jumps

WHETSTONE (f3), FRA by Saint des Saints and Westonne (Mansonnien)
Prix Wild Monarch-Pouliches Hurdle (Unraced 3F, 3,000m), May 5^th, Auteuil

Owner: Magalen Bryant
Trainer: Guillaume Macaire
Breeder: Mrs Benoît Gabeur
Rider: Bertrand Lestrade

The younger sister of the champions So French and Device, both by Poliglote out of Westonne, a winner of a Prix Fleuret Chase (Gr3) at Auteuil, Whetstone was sired by Saint of the Saints, contrary to her younger siblings and her other older brother, West Kap, all by Kapgarde.

Like her elders, the filly races for Magalen Bryant and she is trained by Guillaume Macaire, but she did better than Device, second for his debut in the same Prix Wild Monarch Hurdle, and than So French, who only started in the Autumn equivalent, the Prix Finot Hurdle.

Westonne’s 2^nd dam, Feuilles d’Automne (Crystal Palace), was bred by Guy de Rothschild and made it seven times to the podium between 1981 and 1982, when trained by François Mathet, but in places like Cabourg and Rouen, both vansihed since then, to finally score at Nancy. At stud however, she produced a champion, Nononito (Nikos), winner of the Prix du Cadran (Gr1) and the Prix Léon Rambaud Hurdle (Gr2-Haies), also third in the French Champion Hurdle for trainer Jean Lesbordes.