€80,000 Gladiateur (Gr3): Sevennah's Knight holds his ground

ParisLongchamp, Sunday, September 8th, 2024 – The seemingly unstoppable rise of Sevennah's Knight (Camelot) continued in the €80,000 Prix Gladiateur (Gr3) over 15f. The OTI Racing representative dominated the field despite carrying a two-kilogram penalty and facing a formidable challenge from the Irish raider, Harbour Wind (Nathaniel). Although beaten soundly in his previous outing in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Gr1) on good to soft ground, Sevennah's Knight had previously secured back-to-back victories in the Prix de Barbeville (Gr3) and Vicomtesse Vigier (Gr2) on very soft and soft ground, respectively.

Relishing the rain-softened turf, he settled in second behind the two raiders, the 3-year-old English filly River of Stars (Sea the Stars) and Harbour Wind, who was returning from a winning reappearance in Ireland, nine months after his second-place finish in the Qatar Prix Chaudenay (Gr2).

As the field entered the straight and the two leaders engaged in a battle, the 4-year-old Sevennah's Knight launched his bid down the centre of the track and asserted his dominance, ultimately winning by a comfortable two lengths from Harbour Wind. The latter narrowly held on to second place, with Présage Nocturne (Wootton Bassett) finishing strongly just ahead of River of Stars.

The winner is the eighth foal out of Sevenna (Galileo), a Group 2 winner in England who also produced the Prix de Royaumont (Gr3) victress Savanne (Rock of Gibraltar). More recently, Sevenna has foaled a 3-year-old by Camelot, sold as a yearling for €85,000 at Deauville but still unraced, a 2-year-old filly by New Bay in training with André Fabre for Gestüt Ammerland, and a yearling filly by Siyouni sold for €160,000 to Meridian International at Deauville last August.