20 June 2021
Photo scoopdyga.com
June 20, 2021, Chantilly Racecourse. - Five weeks after St Mark’s Basilica's triumph in the French 2,000 Guineas, and then in the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, the improvised duo formed by Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien and the French rider Ioritz Mendizabal struck once again in the Prix de Diane Longines (French Oaks, Gr1) with Joan of Arc (Galileo). Soon next the front-running Sibila Spain (Frankel), who set a moderate pace after an early effort from stall 15, the regally bred Irish filly took some time to find momentum but she finally made a difference one out and kept her head in front of a closing favourite Philomène (Dubawi) who also took her time to find the right gait. She was finally beaten by less than a length, a short head in front of her stablemate at André Fabre's Burgarita (Sea the Stars), who missed her start, and a brave Sibila Spain.
Rougir (Territories) finished well in 5th in a finish dominated by the favoured fillies.
Joan of Arc was running for the 7th time, a first out of Ireland. Second, beaten by a nose, for her debut on Dundaks all-weather last year at 2, she won her maiden at first asking this term at the Curragh over 7 furlongs, and got beaten after that in a 1,000 Guineas trial. However, she came back with a win in an Irish Guineas trial and was only caught home in the very end in the Curragh Classic, by her stablemate Empress Josephine, since then only 8th in the Coronation Stakes (Gr1) at Royal Ascot.
A month later, she is finally crowned in the French Oaks ...
Joan Of Arc's pedigree is amongst the finest in the World. She's by Galileo and You’resothrilling (Storm Cat), dam of the classic winner and famed sire Gleneagles, also by Galileo. Her 2nd dam is the American mare Mariah’s Storm (Rahy), a champion on the tracks and a hero who inspired the movie "Dreamer", but also the dam of the iron horse Giant’s Causeway.
Youtube links to the riders' view in the Prix de Diane Longines (Jean Bernard Eyquem & Light Stars ; Olivier Peslier & Rumi): Click here and here.
Quotes from connections
Aidan O’Brien (trainer of Joan of Arc, 1st)
« I’m delighted, even more so because she was bred at home by John and Susan Magnier. Well done to the whole team. Ioritz gave her a super ride. This is a race we have tried to win many times but it is not easy to win. Ioritz Mendizabal is someone very intelligent, a real horseman and whenever we have had the chance to work with him, it really puts us at ease. He is a world class jockey. According to Ioritz, she shouldn’t have a problem stepping up to 2,400m. The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe could therefore be a possibility for her. We have a lot of very good three-year-olds this year, it’s very exciting. »
Hermine Bastide (representing Coolmore, owner of Joan of Arc, 1st)
« This victory comes with a lot of emotion. Surprised? Not particularly, because everyone had worked so hard, with this in mind. To win a classic always brings a deal of emotion, but this one is extra special as it was the first Prix de Diane Longines for Aidan O’Brien. »
Pierre Gasnier (representing Coolmore, breeders of Joan of Arc, 1st)
« She is the sister of Gleneagles and the fifth Group one winner out of mare, You’resothrilling, It’s quite remarkable! Even better, she is perfectly named to be winning in France! »
Ioritz Mendizabal, jockey of Joan of Arc
« Aidan O'Brien is my Santa Claus! He has given me two superb horses to ride in recent weeks. I want to thank him very much. He gave me some simple instructions, but when the horses are as good as that, it’s easy. All this success is a direct result of the hard work put in at home and for me to be working with the Aiden O’Brien team is just incredible! I can imagine that my two daughters and my mother were shouting at the television... Throughout the race I was just getting ready to accelerate. I wasn’t pushing her, I was simply just going with her in her stride. AS of 400m out I wasn’t fully sure we were going to win because Sibila Spain is a good filly, but Joan Of Arc fought hard and got there for me. »
Lisa-Jane Graffard (Godolphin French representative , owner of Philomène, 2nd)
« We are extremely happy with this performance; she has really shown that she is a top class filly. She finished quite strongly, and she is a very exciting filly going forward. The winner was very courageous. I think that Philomene is better over this distance rather than the 1,600m of the Poule d’Essai. We will step her up again because she gets every yard. In the Poule d’Essai she wasn’t ready to face Group 1 opposition over 1.600m, even if she is very classy. She comes from a family that improves with age. I think she looked better in the paddock today and I think that she will come on again for that. We have always loved her. She comes from a very good pedigree, and she is also very beautiful, we are very lucky to have her. »
Maxime Guyon (jockey of Burgarita, 3rd)
« For just her third race, that was a magnificent performance. She still isn’t quite hardened but that will come with time, she has run excellently today. »
Christopher Head (trainer of Sibila Spain, 4th)
« Our strategy worked out and she really did have a lovely race. Today we have really seen her quality at the top level. It is very reassuring, especially as she still has the capacity to progress- not forgetting that she didn’t run as a two-year-old. Sibila Spain will progress again from this and the fact we were drawn on the wide outside may have gone against us, especially in the closing stages. As for the future, we will have a chat with her owners. You always want to win, but even still, fourth in a race like this is excellent. »
Cédric Rossi (trainer of Rougir, 5e)
« We saw today that she gets the distance. She has come on as a three-year-old and has been unlucky on a couple of occasions. It is a shame that there wasn’t a little more pace on because the jockey said that he couldn’t pull her up at the finish. It’s great, she is a lovely horse and if everything goes well, she will have her day. She has a lot of character, and she knows it. She can be calm just as easy as she can be excited. As for the future we don’t know what we will do with her, but we will take her home and give her a kiss for a start! »
Alan Cooper (manager of the Niarchos, owner of Harajuku, 6th)
« She has run very well. 200m out we thought she was going to get there. She finished 6th but was only a length and a half off the winner. After her Group Three success, we are very happy to be involved at the finish of a classic. »
Nemone Routh (manager of HH The Aga Khan, owner of Khalidiya, 16th)
« The filly has a lot of action and the way the race was run probably didn’t suit her. She lacked a bit of experience to get involved in a race as tough as this. »
Tony Parker was at Chantilly Racecourse for the Prix de Diane Longines
Tony Parker, former professional basketball player and racehorse owner who is hoping to lift France's major horseracing events with his Infinity Nine Horses stable, is amongst the guests at the Prix de Diane Longines, which has attracted 5000 authorized spectators to the Chantilly racecourse.