Critérium International Report: Van Gogh's best piece so far
Photo scoopdyga.com
Saturday 24 October 2020, Saint-Cloud. - It was with great ease that Irish raider Van Gogh (American Pharoah) won the Critérium International (Gr1), his seventh race of the season, over the Val d'Or heavy mile. Held back early by Pierre-Charles Boudot, the Aidan O'Brien-trained colt came along the outer row to gain the upper hand over the leading Normandy Bridge (Le Havre), who stayed on well to stay second at four lengths. He beat the favourite Jadoomi (Holy Roman Emperor), who had galloped alongside him and struggled to keep the third-place.
Van Gogh had therefore raced six times and only won his maiden two races prior this one, before taking second place in the Autumn Stakes (Gr3) at Newmarket - behind One Ruler, 2nd in the Doncaster Futurity Trophy (Gr1) contested that same Saturday at Doncaster-, without a very easy run in the rear.
He's out of the champion filly Imagine (Sadler’s Wells), who also ran six times in less than two months at 2 and won her only group race that year in her fifth attempt. At 3, she still went on to win the Irish One Thousand Guineas (Gr1), then the Epsom Oaks (Gr1), for her last outing. Van Gogh is her eleventh foal, her best so far being Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (Gr1) winner Horatio Nelson (Danehill). This is the family of champions Generous and Triptych, nicknamed the "Iron Lady".