19 March 2022
Photo scoopdyga.com
March 19, 2022, Saint-Cloud Racecourse (Hauts-de-Seine). - Previous winner of the race, Skalleti (Kendargent) started as the favourite for the 2022 renewal of the Prix Exbury (Gr3), a 1m2f race for aged horses that opens the Parisian turf season. Since his success in 2021, the champion grey owned by Jean-Claude Seroul had made the news by taking the Prix d’Ispahan (Gr1), finishing the season with 5 Group wins. Trained by Jérôme Reynier near Marseilles for this seasonal return, the 7-year-old gelding was held last until the long, final straight, and was unable to quite make up the ground and beat Pretty Tiger (Sea the Moon), recent winner of the Grand Prix de la Riviera (L) over Cagnes-sur-Mer's all-weather, and Hurricane Dream (Hurricane Cat), who had also been kept in the rear. Pretty Tiger finally kept half a length over a resolute Hurricane Dream, Skalleti being beaten by a head only for the second place. The latter still run the best last three furlongs in the race in 34’’89 according to France Galop's tracking system.
Trained by Fabrice Vermeulen for owner Bernard Giraudon, Pretty Tiger is a 4-year-old horse. Revealed in the Winter on the Riviera in 2021, he confirmed at first asking in Paris, when he won the Prix François Mathet (L) a year ago in this very meeting at Saint-Cloud. Beaten a nose later on by Cheshire Academy in the Noailles (Gr3), he then finished 6th in the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club (Gr1). back at Saint-Cloud, he won the Prix Eugène Adam (Gr2) and finished 2nd in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano Haras du Logis Saint-Germain (Gr2) at Deauville, again on 1m2f. He ended his season with a failure in the Qatar Prix Niel (Gr2) and only came back this Winter at Cagnes-sur-Mer, where he won on the fibresand.
Bred by Chevotel de la Hauquerie, Pretty Tiger is out of Fast and Pretty (Zamindar) and he was bought for €105,000 as a yearling at the August sales at Deauville by Oceanic Bloodstock. In 2020, his Camelot brother made €95,000 at the Arqana October sales, bought by Kerri Radcliffe for Joseph O’Brien. Their elder Siyouni brother Pretty Boy had already been placed in the Prix Thomas Bryon (Gr3) at 2 and was still going strong on the French sprinting/flying scene. The colt sold to Ireland has run twice at 2 last season, finished 2nd once, and is now entered in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Derby.
Fast and Pretty -who won just once- comes from a German bloodline that also produced several Group 2 and 3 performers in France, including the Grand Prix de Deauville winner Tres Blue (Anabaa Blue), exported to Australia.