Gros-Chêne: Brostaigh grows fast

June 5, 2022, Chantilly Racecourse (Oise). – The two fastest females out of the €130,000 160th Prix du Gros-Chêne (Gr2), that is the Irish 3-year-old Brostaigh (Footstepsinthesand) and her French elder rival Air de Valse (Mesnil des Aigles),  took the two first places at the finish, the third-placed White Lavender (Heeraat) coming from the rear to complete the podium for Britain. Air de Valse had led all the way by the stands' rail but she couldn't keep up with Brostaigh in the end, conceding a short length while holding off the last challenge by a neck.

It was Brostaigh's 9th start, and the Joseph O’Brien trainee was racing for the first time under a new owner's colours, Scott C Heider. It was also her 3rd win, three weeks after her Listed win on the same 5-furlongs trip at Naas, in hr second outing this terme. She'd completed her first season with a first win over Dundalk's all-weather course.

Brostaigh's 2-year-old No Nay Never sister was withdrawn at the February Goffs sale earlier this year. She's got a yearling full sister. Their older brother Llanes (Giant’s Causeway) did well in France after an early campaign in Spain. He first went to Maurice Delcher-Sanchez's yard, then joined Didier Guillemin and finally went to François Nicolle's yard and won over jumps at Angers, Toulouse, Pompadour, Le Bouscat, Mont-de-Marsan and Marseille-Borély to earn in total over €130,000 in six seasons… Unraced, Brostaigh's dam Coachella (Danehill) is a sister to Maid’s Causeway (Giant’s Causeway), a Coronation Stakes (Gr1) winner whose dam Vallée des Rêves (Kingmambo) is a sister to the Prix de l’Opéra (Gr1) winner Verveine, also dam of Vallée Enchantée, a Hong Kong Vase (Gr1) winner for the Wildensteins.