Cambacérès 3yo Hurdle: Kyrov makes a revolution

November 7, 2021, Auteuil Racecourse (Paris). - Moved forward in the last turn of a very open edition of the Cambacérès 3-year-olds' Hurdle (Gr1), Kyrov (Dark Angel) was nevertheless way better on the day than his rivals in the run-in, as he took another start after the last to finally score by 9 lengths in front of two of the top challengers, Golden Son (Martaline) and Ain’t Got Wings (Martaline).

Trained by François Nicolle for owner Alain Jathière, Kyrov has now won 5 of his last races, all of them being over hurdles, since his debut in April at Bordeaux. Today was his first venture into Group territory.

Bred by Haras du Cadran (Pierre Talvard), Jean-Louis Blot and SCEA Bissons, Kyrov was twice in an Arqana catalogue but only showed up once as a yearling, when unsold at €70,000. However, that's exactly the price that fetched his Zarak sister last year when sold to Eckhard Sauren. Kyrov was also in the Arqana breeze-ups in 2020 but was then withdrawn.

His dam Varsity (Lomitas), consistent at 3 with Alex Pantall for the Maktoums and Listed-placed then over 1m4f, was snot that consistent in Britain and elsewhere when trained by Charlie Swan. She had been sold for €135,000 to Seamus Murphy, who sold her again for €95,000, again at Deauville, to Chantilly Bloodstock (Gérard Larrieu). Since then, at stud, she gave a few winners over the flat, but none at 2. Most were sold at Deauville or Newmarket.