€80,000 Flore (Gr3): Village Voice on broadway

Sunday, October 22, 2023, Saint-Cloud Racecourse (Hauts-de-Seine). – The favourite in the €80,000 Prix de Flore (Gr3), a distaff over 10.5 furlongs, was the Irish raider, Village Voice (Zarak). She hung on to her lead in the final stretch, proving too strong for the French contingent, led by a good Manisha (Lope de Vega), 2nd at a neck. The winning filly had taken over before the first turn, soon joined by Rainbow Sky (Sea the Stars), while the early leader, 4-year-old Manisha, kept to the inside rail behind these frontrunners.

They turned toward the outer rail into the home straight, and Village Voice managed to fend off a late challenge from Manisha at the furlong marker. Just under a length behind, Tygress (Kingman), who had joined Manisha on a second rank, finished strongly along the rail to reclaim third place from Une Perle (Mount Nelson), who had moved up from the rear to make progress in between horses and had looked promising for a while before fading slightly towards the end.

Village Voice, who had already finished third in a Gr3 race in only her second start after a successful debut at 2 years old, had failed on her late seasonal return in the "Royal Ascot Oaks", the Ribblesdale Stakes (Gr2). She then secured a second-place finish behind the outstanding Jackie Oh, who later placed second in the Prix de l'Opéra Longines (Gr1) and the Group 1 Distaff race at Ascot's Champions Day. Meanwhile, Village Voice finished third over 9 furlongs in a subsequent Group 3 race.

Bred in Britain by Malih Al Basti, Village Voice was sold for £38,000 at Tattersalls to BBA Ireland. Her dam, Sensible Way (Street Sense), won her maiden race in her second outing but couldn't win again after that. Village Voice is her third foal and her first winner. A French Navy filly born in 2021 is worth keeping an eye on.

The second dam was placed in the One Thousand Guineas, and the fourth dam is a full sister to Seattle Dancer, who was long the world's most expensive yearling ($13.1m in 1985) as a brother to the Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew.