British-trained Friendly Soul breaks the Qatar Prix Vermeille record
British-trained Friendly Soul breaks the Qatar Prix Vermeille record
The Qatar Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 – the highest level of racing – open to fillies and mares aged three and over. This trial for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Group 1) was won by the British-trained Friendly Soul. The five-year-old recorded her fourth Group-race victory and her second at Group 1 level.
This success earns her a Wild Card for the next Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Group 1), a race for which she was not originally entered. Her connections now have a second option – the first being to attempt to win the Prix de l’Opéra Longines (Group 1) once again, a race she won in 2024 and which will take place at ParisLongchamp on the same day as the Arc (Sunday 4 October).
Friendly Soul came into the race on the back of a second-place finish in the Qatar Nassau Stakes (Group 1) at Goodwood (England).
In front throughout
On Sunday, she took the lead from the opening strides before increasing the tempo alongside the Irish-trained Composing in the false straight. She then opened up a gap at the entrance to the home straight and managed to maintain her advantage all the way to the winning post. She won in 2’25’’46, setting a new race record (the previous record was 2’26’’00, jointly held by the champion Zarkava), helped by the good ground.
The French-trained Pink Panthera, trained at Calas (Bouches-du-Rhône), finished very strongly to take second place. Chantilly-trained Sunly finished third.
Friendly Soul was bred by her American owner George Strawbridge. Born in 1937, he has been racing horses in Europe for many years. He notably bred the champion Moonlight Cloud.
Official result
QATAR PRIX VERMEILLE
1st FRIENDLY SOUL (J. W. Doyle)
2nd PINK PANTHERA (P.-C. Boudot)
3rd SUNLY (C. Keane)
Time: 2’25’’46. Margins: 3/4 - Neck - 1.
Reactions from the connections
Thady Gosden, trainer (with his father John) of Friendly Soul (1st), England
“Her owners George and Julia Strawbridge made a very sporting decision to keep her in training at this age. The last time she came here, she won the Prix de l’Opéra, two years ago now. She won in a somewhat similar way: she likes to do things her own way... It was her first start over 2,400 metres and going to the front is not the most conventional way of tackling a longer distance! But she took her jockey James Doyle to the lead and I thought she was very courageous all the way to the winning post. We will see how she recovers and which direction her owners would like to take. She is entered in the Prix de l’Opéra and she has now won a Wild Card for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. If, on 4 October, the ground is more testing than it was today, the Prix de l’Opéra, over 2,000 metres, might perhaps be preferable for her. But it is fantastic to have both options.”
Alain Jathière, co-owner of Pink Panthera (2nd), Calas (Bouches-du-Rhône)
“We finished second, we didn’t win, but she showed us that she is a very, very good filly. She has a lot of heart and gives everything she can. We will try to win next time. The Arc de Triomphe could be a possibility. I need to discuss it with the trainer and my partner. We have also thought about going abroad, perhaps to the United States. We will see. She is not entered in the Arc, so we would have to supplement her. I think the logical option would probably be to go for the Opéra, particularly because she showed us today that this distance was just about her limit. Pierre-Charles told us that the final fifty metres felt a little long.”
Francis-Henri Graffard, trainer of Sunly (3rd), Chantilly
“Unfortunately, Sunly stumbled coming out of the stalls, and then she was caught up in the movement in the home straight, where she was bumped. Despite that, she produced a very good finish. We will see how she comes out of the race and how she recovers from all of that. The aim is to run her over Arc weekend.”
J-30 to the Arc – Qatar Arc Trials Day: the last chance to secure a ticket !
One month before the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, on Sunday 6 September at ParisLongchamp, the Qatar Arc Trials will give the winners of these three major trial races (Qatar Prix Vermeille, Qatar Prix Niel and Qatar Prix Foy) an automatic Wild Card, allowing them to line up in the Arc.
The entry fee will be refunded to the winners of the Qatar Arc Trials. More importantly, if they are not already entered, these horses will benefit from free supplementary entry worth €120,000.