A Fabulous Swan Song for Champs Elysees |
| Twice Over carried Prince Khalid Abdullah’s silks to victory in Newmarket’s Champion Stakes last Saturday. It was three in the afternoon in England. Across the Atlantic in Canada, the tenth race came up at Woodbine Racecourse and the time was a few minutes past five in the afternoon. Another Prince Abdullah-owned horse, Champs Elysees charged through the homestretch to win the Grade I Pattison Canadian International. Two Group I wins in two different countries on the same day is an accomplishment of enormous proportions and the two horses were given textbook rides by their respective jockeys. The Canadian International, run over 2,400 metres, carried a purse of $1,927,556. Garrett Gomez` kept Champs Elysees well off the pace and had several lengths to make up and four horses to pass with 400 metres left. Jukebox Jury, an invader from England and the only three year-old in the race, tracked the leaders and struck the front turning for home. Buccellati, another English challenger, made his bid. As Jukebox Jury and Bucellati were fighting it out, Champs Elysees staged a smooth rally to sail past them. The winning margin was one half length. Two lengths away in third was Buccellati. The race was run in 2 28.36 seconds. Champs Elysees returned $7.20. Marsh Side, the International winner in 2008, showed the way and ended up fourth. Bobby Frankel, based in California, trains Champs Elysees. The news must have been a pick-up for trainer Frankel who is fighting an illness. The six year-old Champs Elysees is by Danehill. Hasili is the dam and she is by Kahyasi. The Canadian International is a ‘you win and you’re in race’ for the Breeders’ Cup Turf but it was confirmed that Champs Elysees would be retired. In 28 races, Champs Elysees compiled a 6-8-7 record and won $2,864,444 and in the process, won three Grade I events. Garrett O Rourke, Racing Manager for Juddmonte Farms in Kentucky, spoke. “To go out on such a huge win like this, is obviously a big boost to his stallion career. He deserves it. He has been a tremendous servant.” Jockey Gomez expressed delight. “I just tried to ride him with all the confidence. He is a talented horse. He always finds a way to get in trouble especially on big days. It’s great to see him finally win a big one.” It has been reported that Twice Over will take his chances in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Twice Over will be running on an artificial surface for the first time. Tom Queally, who rode Twice Over in the Champion Stakes, will continue the partnership. Gitano Hernando will not go in the Breeders’ Cup. The Hernando colt won the Grade I Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita two weeks ago. Barry Irwin, head of Team Valor, the group that owns Gitano Hernando, said, “Our colt just ran too hard and we don’t feel comfortable bringing him back in a month. We feel he’s a prime candidate for the World Cup in Dubai. We do not want to do anything to compromise his future.” There was another Grade I race in Woodbine’s Saturday card. It was the E P Taylor Stakes for distaffers over 2,000 metres. The purse was $964,356. It was a ‘you win and you’re in’ Breeders’ Cup race. Lalaleeb, a three-year-old and a 44-1 chance in the Tote, won going away and that was the longest priced winner in the 54-year history of the E P Taylor Stakes. William Buick rode Lahaleeb who is trained by Mick Channon. Trainer Channon won a Group II race at Newmarket earlier in the day. Mick Channn, Jr was on hand in Toronto. Lahaleeb was fourth and then third and stayed in touch with the leaders. Rainbow View, champion freshman filly in Europe last year and winner of Leopardstown’s Matron Stakes in her last outing, tracked the leader and assumed command in the lane but had no answer when Lahaleeb came calling. Lahaleeb won by a length and three quarters and ran the 2,000 metres in 2 02.89. Second in a photo to the Aidan O’Brien-trained Again in the Irish 1000 Guineas in the slop at the Curragh, Lahaleeb had run disappointingly in subsequent races. Redback by Mark of Esteem is Lahaleeb’s sire. The dam is Flames by Blushing Flame. There was a $90.70 payoff. Trainer Channon Jr commented. “We kept it simple. We did not treat her with anything. She came in fresh. We got it spot on. We came here hoping for soft ground but it worked out. The Breeders’ Cup is an option.” Jockey Buick was thrilled. “This is my first Grade I win. It is special. She had a long year back home but today she was in great form.” As I type this text, Mick Channon has made a statement. “It is misleading to say a race is a you win and you’re in race for the Breeders’ Cup. In my case, I have to pay $180,000 to get into the BC. Lahaleeb, no nomination has been made. The fee is prohibitive. The BC is off.” At Woodbine on Saturday, there was another race, the Grade II Nearctic, a race over 1200 metres on the grass. Field Commission, ridden by Julien Leparoux, was held up and thundered past the field in the last 200 metres. Field Commission won by a length and a half in 1 09.23 seconds. A $2.00 win ticket returned $11.20. Service Stripe by Deputy Minister is the sire of Field Commission. Tearful Moment by Schossberg is the dam. Daniel Vella trains Field Commission who now has a berth in the BC Sprint at Santa Anita. Keeneland hosted the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Saturday. The race carried a $500,000 purse. Hot Cha Cha, James Graham up, made the most of an opening along the fence to win. The 1800-metre grass race was run in 1 53.09 seconds. Hot Cha Cha won by four and one half lengths. Hot Cha Cha paid $19.00. Gozzip Girl, the 7-10 favorite, took third. Phil Sims trains Hot Cha Cha. He spoke. “She has hearts and guts. She gives you all. She gets better every race.” James Graham paid tribute to his mount, who came off a win in Arlington’s Pucker Up. It was the first Grade I win for trainer Sims and jockey Graham. “I pulled the trigger sooner than I wanted to. If I did not, the hole would have closed. When I got through, she exploded. She’s a lovely filly,” Graham said. Hot Cha Cha, a three year-old filly, is by Cactus Ridge by Hennessy. The dam is Reduced Sentence by Broad Brush. Frankie Dettori won the Group I Gran Premio del Jockey Club e Coppa d’Oro last Sunday at San Siro in Italy. It was Dettori’s first Group I win in 2009. Schiaparelli, a Godolphin runner, won start to finish as the 46/100 favourite. Schiaparelli had won the 2400-metre event in 2007. Dettori brought a cheer from the fans with a flying dismount. Jockey Dettori was relieved. “I have won a Group I every year since 1990. Richard Hills and Johnny Murtagh have been taking the (expletive) for the past three months. I was running out of bullets and Schiaparelli got me out of the (expletive). This is like winning the King George and I have won it five times.” Hollywood Park will race next year. There was a fear that the track would be demolished to make way for a shopping area after the local council passed a resolution early summer. This comes as a big relief to California racing fans. Johnny Murtagh rode two winners at Navan on Wednesday and is a winner ahead of Pat Smullen in the Irish jockey’s title race. There is no flat racing in Ireland on Thursday. Murtagh, three-time Irish champion, has not won the title in 11 years. Doncaster hosts the Racing Post Trophy on Saturday. There has been some rain and the going now is good to soft in places. Some ease in the ground is expected on Saturday. It is a Friday-Saturday meeting at Doncaster. The Racing Post Trophy is a race that has been won by subsequent Derby champions. Authorized won the Trophy in 2006 and won the Epsom Derby the next year. Gary Stevens has saddled his first winner as a trainer. Rafael Bejarano rode the Stevens-trained Higher Incentive to victory at Santa Anita last Friday. Higher Incentive paid $15.40. Stevens retired in 2005 after riding 5,000 winners. He became a trainer in August. “Not 10 second had passed and my phone rang. It was my Dad. He was very emotional and so was I,” Stevens said. Last Sunday, the 2000-metre Shukha Sho was run at Kyoto Racecourse in Japan. Kyoto is a right-handed course. It was a race for sophomore fillies and the third and final leg of the (filly) Japanese Triple Crown. Red Desire won it from Broad Street. Buena Vista, winner of the Japanese 1000 Guineas and the Oaks, was the favourite and finished second but was disqualified and placed third for interference to Broad Street. There were 18 runners. Red Desire won by a nose in a time of 1 58.2. Red Desire is by Manhattan Café out of Great Sunrise. The winning jockey was H Shii and M Matsunaga, the winning trainer. They were winning a Grade I race for the first time. The top three came off the pace. Red Desire was the 22/10 second choice. The attendance was 51,251 and the handle was 21,699,964,700. One dollar is 90 yen. |
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