€280,000 Renaud du Vivier 4yo Hurdle Race (Gr1): Kingland in his Realm

Auteuil, France – September 24, 2024 – The odds-on favourite Kingland (Cokoriko) won the €280,000 Prix Renaud du Vivier 4yo Hurdle Race (Gr1), the Grande Course de Haies des 4ans hurdle race, with tremendous ease on Sunday at Auteuil. The AQPS gelding drew off in the backstretch to win by nine lengths from the outsider Zephyr de Beaumont (Masked Marvel). The race was run at a good pace, as the kilometre rate was less than 1'12" on heavy ground (rated 4.6). However, the representative of Lynne McLennan, partnered with breeders Thierry Cyprès & Fils, Paul-Etienne Carillon, and pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, never seemed in difficulty, unlike all those who tried to challenge him. The field was still tightly bunched as they approached the backstretch, but the François Nicolle trainee was already clear entering the final turn. In the game of musical chairs that followed, Zephyr de Beaumont, who was competing in his first Group race after taking a less conventional route, had the last word for second place ahead of Losange Bleu Vert (Night Wish), a brother to Losange Bleu (Martaline).

A winner of the Prix Finot 3yo Beginners' Hurdle Race on his debut last autumn, Kingland immediately tackled top-level competition and finished third in the Prix Cambacérès 3yo Hurdle Race (Gr1). Pulled up on his comeback in the Prix d'Indy 4yo Hurdle Race (Gr3), he then won the Prix de Pépinvast 4yo Hurdle Race (Gr3) very easily but was no match for Pistache Doré (Sommerabend) in the Prix Alain du Breil 4yo Hurdle Race (Gr1). This autumn, he has been faultless, winning the Prix de Maisons-Laffitte 4yo Hurdle Race and the Prix Pierre de Lassus 4yo Hurdle Race (Gr3s) before this impressive performance.

He is the sixth foal out of the unraced Annaland (Saint des Saints), also the dam of the very good Figuero (Yeats), winner of the Prix Maurice Gillois 4yo Chase (Gr1) and the Prix La Haye Jousselin Chase (Gr1). Since Kingland, she has also produced a 3-year-old filly by Yeats in training with Elisabeth Allaire, La Horra, who finished second at Argentan a week before Kingland's victory; then a 2-year-old colt by Doctor Dino in training with François Nicolle for Lynne McLennan; and a The Grey Gatsby colt who will turn 2 years old soon.

This is the family of Cumberland and Embiez, produced by Kingland's fourth dam, Queensland IV (Citheron).