Tag Archive for: French Derby

Ballylinch and Al Shaqab snap up Arc favourite Look De Vega

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Ballylinch Stud has purchased a majority interest in Prix du Jockey Club winner Look De Vega in association with Al Shaqab Racing.

The French Derby hero is by Ballylinch’s star sire Lope De Vega and is in training with Carlos and Yann Lerner.

Currently the ante-post favourite for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Look De Vega stretched his unbeaten record to three with a blistering turn of foot at Chantilly and will stand alongside his sire at Ballylinch when his racing days are over.

“We are delighted to see the form of the French Derby working out so well with third-placed Sosie an impressive winner of the Grand Prix De Paris last Saturday, fourth-placed Ghostwriter finishing a close second to City Of Troy in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, and seventh-placed Sunway a good second in the Irish Derby,” Ballylinch’s managing director John O’Connor told Thoroughbred Daily News.

“Carlos and Yann Lerner have done a fantastic job so far with Look De Vega and we look forward to working with them.

“We are also very pleased to once again join forces with Al Shaqab Racing following our previous association with Prix de l’Opera winner Place Du Carrousel, who is also by Lope De Vega.

“We are delighted that his previous owners – his trainers Carlos and Yann, Mr Patrick Madar, and his breeders Joelle Mestrallet and Lucien Urano, who were represented in this deal by Meridian International – will continue to be involved in the ownership of Look De Vega, and we look forward to more great days in the future with them.”

No hurry for connections to firm up Ghostwriter route

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Clive Cox will not rush into making a plan for Ghostwriter having seen him finish fourth in his second Classic of the season on Sunday.

The Jeff Smith-owned colt finished three and three-quarter lengths behind the impressive winner Look De Vega in the French Derby at Chantilly.

That followed another meritorious run in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, with Cox feeling the rain-softened ground just blunted Ghostwriter’s turn of foot in France and is minded to keep him to quicker ground in future.

“He ran a really nice race and I think the amount of rain during the last week probably hindered his finishing kick,” said Cox.

“I couldn’t say he didn’t go on the ground as he’s finished close enough, but quicker ground would have just helped him a little more.

“Most importantly I’m really pleased with the way he has come out of the race, I’m very happy indeed that he’s come out of it really well.”

Ghostwriter found himself a bit short of room turning into the straight, but his trainer was making no excuses.

Cox said: “He was very lucky to get his way out of a tight spot turning into the straight and then he just lengthened to the line.

“I think the winner was pretty impressive but our lad ran a good, solid race and a drier surface will help him more in the future.

“I don’t think we’ll be dropping back to a mile, we’re quite happy that the trip was favourable and we’d be quite happy that he’ll continue to build on what he has shown so far.

“We’ve no thoughts about where next, he’s well entered up so we’ve got many options open and we’ll bear in mind what we thought about the ground as well.”

Low draw pleases Cox for Ghostwriter’s Classic bid

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Clive Cox was “very happy and relieved” to avoid a wide draw with Ghostwriter in Sunday’s Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.

The son of Invincible Spirit carries rock-solid credentials into the French Derby after overcoming trouble in running to finish fourth in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

That form has been franked by placed horses Rosallion and Haatem going on to dominate the Irish equivalent, while sixth-placed Inisherin dropped down in trip to secure an impressive success in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock.

With Ghostwriter having prevailed over a mile as a juvenile in the Royal Lodge and then staying on strongly in the Guineas, a step up in distance looks sure to suit the Jeff Smith-owned colt.

Cox said: “We’re very pleased with the two stall. With 15 runners, we’re very happy with that. We don’t have to worry about being out wide now, so thank goodness. We’re very happy and that’s definitely a piece of the jigsaw that has been sorted out.

“He’s in very good shape and we’re looking forward to travelling over. I really think stepping up to 10 furlongs will be beneficial for him and the ground is the same for every horse.

“He’s only performed on a quicker surface, so that’s a territory we’re just going to have to find out about, but I’m confident with the way he moves that he’ll handle himself on softer ground.

“We’ve had a good week so far and at this time of year it’s pleasing with some very nice races coming up.

“Ghostwriter’s main target was the Guineas to begin with and he ran a super race to finish fourth. Without a shadow of a doubt, the form of the Guineas is already showing how strong a Guineas it was.

“You have the first and second in the Irish Guineas and then the sixth horse winning the Sandy Lane. It’s very pleasing to see that form look so solid.

bet365 Spring Celebration – Sandown Park Racecourse – Friday 26th April
Trainer Clive Cox has plenty of faith in Ghostwriter (John Walton/PA).

“We’re looking forward to stepping up to a mile and a quarter, he’s out of a Champs Elysees mare and I very much believe that winning over a mile in the Royal Lodge last year gave us that confidence that with more strength we would be able to step up in trip.

“And after such a pleasing run in the Guineas, we’re really looking forward to it.”

Aidan O’Brien, who claimed this prize three years ago with St Mark’s Basilica, is also looking forward to trying Diego Velazquez over a longer trip.

The son of Frankel won the Group Two Golden Fleece Stakes over a mile at Leopardstown at two and was doing his best work at the business end when a close fourth in the French 2,000 Guineas first time out this term.

O’Brien said: “With Diego, we felt a mile is as short as he wanted to go and we thought a mile and a quarter might be his ideal trip.

“Obviously he could get further, but we always viewed him as a French Derby horse more than anything else.

“We thought and hoped Chantilly would suit him. Everything has gone very well since the French Guineas, he came out of it very well.

Leopardstown Races – Sunday 10th September
Diego Velazquez and Ryan Moore after winning at Leopardstown (Damien Eagers/PA).

“He stays and he’s uncomplicated. It was a very good run-out the last time, we were over the moon, and Christophe (Soumillon) was very happy with him as well.

“We definitely think he has plenty of class, especially for a mile-and-a-quarter horse.”

David Menuisier’s Sunway has been a beaten favourite in two starts this season but does have a Group One victory in France on his CV from last term, when upsetting the reopposing Alcantor in the Criterium International at Saint-Cloud on very soft ground.

Sunway (second right) represents David Menuisier
Sunway (second right) represents David Menuisier (Tim Goode/PA)

“One day, he’ll show the same class in the afternoon as he does in the morning,” said Menuisier. “Sunway proved last year that he was a very good horse and has a big race in him.”

Fast Tracker is rated the leading home hope by bookmakers, with the Henri-Alex Pantall-trained son of Churchill having been snapped up by Wathnan Racing since scoring by a wide margin at Listed level over this course and distance.

James Doyle takes the ride and Pantall said: “Fast Tracker is a straightforward ride as he races handily, doesn’t pull and he’ll be able to adapt. He exhibits just one flaw in his racing style, as he takes time to pick up when the pace quickens.”

Look De Vega is unbeaten after two outings for Carlos and Yann Lerner, while Ace Impact’s half-brother Arrow Eagle represents last year’s winning combination of trainer Jean-Claude Rouget and jockey Cristian Demuro.

Rouget also saddles Wahdan and Grecian Storm as he bids to complete a hat-trick of Prix du Jockey Club triumphs.

Ace Impact hits the target in spectacular fashion at Chantilly

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Jean-Claude Rouget’s Ace Impact extended his unbeaten record with a brilliant performance to land the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.

Having completed a hat-trick on his previous run over 10 furlongs at this track last month, he gained a fourth success in scintillating fashion, coming from well off the pace in the hands of Cristian Demuro to collar long-time leader and favourite Big Rock inside the final furlong.

The additional half-furlong certainly helped the son of Cracksman, as Ace Impact looked better the further he went.

British raider Epictetus, trained by John and Thady Gosden, held every chance turning in, but Frankie Dettori’s mount faded to finish fifth, while Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous was in third throughout, before failing to see out the final furlong, eventually finishing eighth of the 11 runners.

Rouget, winning the race for a sixth time, was impressed with the way the Ace Impact quickened up to win going away by three and a half lengths.

“I was impressed with his acceleration, because he really comes from a long way off,” said the trainer. “To think that Big Rock was in front and has got the race in the bag, and then 300 metres from the winning post he comes and gets him.

“We always saw in the mornings that he was a really good-moving colt and it is really impressive how he comes and gets Big Rock.”

Ace Impact was unraced as a two-year-old but has steadily progressed since making a winning debut over 10 furlongs at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in January.

Rouget added: “I actually had plans to take him to Deauville last summer to have his first race there.

“But when he arrived at Deauville from Pau, he didn’t have a very nice coat and didn’t seem to acclimatise himself very well.

“So, I decided to leave him alone and also didn’t think about the autumn. Then I saw his brother had won at Cagnes, so I thought why not try that? And he demonstrated that he had a really good stride and could quicken very quickly.

“This race (today) makes me think of the Epsom Derby in that the horse in front (King Of Steel) I thought was going to win, until Auguste Rodin came from the back, so it was very similar.”

The winning time of 2:02.63 was a track record, beating that recoded by Sottsass who won the same race for Rouget in 2019. He went on to finish third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe that same season, before triumphing in the European middle-distance championship the following year.

Jean-Claude Rouget and Cristian Demuro with Ace Impact
Jean-Claude Rouget and Cristian Demuro with Ace Impact (SccopDyga/France Galop)

Asked if he is a horse who could head to ParisLongchamp in the autumn, Rouget confirmed: “I think he has got the profile. He is that type, he has that stride. I think he will prefer better ground.

“He will have to try to emulate Sottsass, who was effective in both good ground and soft ground. There are other races before the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe obviously, but we will aim him at the Arc.”

Paddy Power and Betfair cut Ace Impact to 10-1 from 50-1 for the Arc, while Coral make him their 5-1 favourite for the Eclipse.