|
John Oxx, trainer of Sea The Stars, reacted. “My French informants tell me that apart from Longchamp much of the ground in that part of Paris is brown, so it’s good to hear that they are going to put a bit of water on the track.”
The bookmakers’ reaction was swift and decisive. Now, the son of Cape Cross who has won a Group I race every month since May and will be attempting to take the streak to include October, is an odds on choice in both Ireland and England. Boylesports, an Irish outfit, has the best deal at 5-6. It is certain that in the French Tote, Sea The Stars will be a prohibitive favorite.
John Oxx, who won the Arc in 2000 with Sinndaar, talked about the training regimen of Sea The Stars. “He will do what he usually does in the lead-up to a race and hopefully all will go well with him. He seems to be in very good form and not showing any effects of the campaign he has gone through. He has been giving us the normal good signals that he has been giving all season. A mile and a half, I don’t think, will be an issue,” Oxx said.
Vision d’Etat, winner of the 2008 French Derby and the Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot this June, put in a piece of work on the sand on Monday. Olivier Peslier, who has won the Arc three times, rides the French runner.
Trainer Libaud spoke. “He is in perfect condition. He came back stiff after his loss to Spanish Moon in the Prix Foy. Any rain will help us.”
Fame And Glory will get one more chance to find a chink in Sea The Stars’ armor. The Irish Derby hero has been drifting in the market as the weather forecast is prompting many a fan to take the short odds on the Oxx-trained champion.
Lester Piggott has an opinion about the Arc and Sea The Stars. “The way he has run this season has been fantastic. He is a standout. He is such an easy-going horse, has a wonderful temperament and that is what has helped him along the way. The only thing that can beat him is a soft course and he won’t run anyway then. He is a good thing and the betting shows that,” Piggott has stated.
Goldikova will bean odds on in the Prix la Foret on Saturday. The Anabaa filly will try 1400 metres but trainer Freddie Head has, with considerable conviction, said that his filly has speed and the shorter trip will not be a problem. Goldikova has won six G I races in 2008-09. Her target again is the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita in November.
It has been reported that Elusive Wave will not oppose Goldikova in the Foret. The French 1000 Guineas winner sat in the stalls in her last start and trainer Jean Rouget was instructed to give her stall practice by the French stewards. The report says that Elusive Wave is not training well at the moment.
There are two items of note from America. At Belmont Park last Saturday, Indian Blessing and Sara Louise staged a duel to the bitter end. The Bob Baffert-trained Indian Blessing, Eclipse winner in 2007 and 2008, beat Sara Louise in a photo finish in the G II Gallant Bloom that carried a $156,500 purse. Indian Blessing was getting an encore in the Gallant Bloom and now has a berth in the Breeders’ Cup. She was giving Sara Louise six pounds.
John Velasquez, Indian Blessing’s jockey, spoke. “Wow, my God! She put everything into this. Sara Louise and Edgar Prado kept coming and she kept fighting on. It was a gutsy, gutsy effort.”
Trainer Bob Baffert was in no hurry to commit to the Breeders’ Cup. “We will bring her back to California. We will give the Breeders’ Cup serious consideration,” he said.
Garrett Gomez was at Turfway Park in Kentucky on Saturday. He won three races including the $195,000 Kentucky Cup Classic. Gomez rode Furthest Land, a claimer once, to victory. Furthest Land was a 6-1 chance.
On Monday at Roscommon in Ireland, Dan Grant rode a winner. He was aboard, Prince Chaparral, an outsider. Grant came from behind and timed his move to perfection. I was reminded of some of his Mumbai wins.
Shamardal’s son, Shakespearean won the Goffs Milion Mile on Sunday at the Curragh. There was another Shamardal colt, Landowner, carrying the royal blue silks of Godolphin, who made it all in a maiden race at Warwick on Tuesday. Ahmed Ajtebi was the jockey.
Shamardal is becoming the top first-season sire in Europe. In 2005, Shamardal used front running tactics to hold Hurricane Run off in the French Derby. His next win was in the St James Palace Stakes at York when the Royal Meeting was held there. Shamardal was being readied for a clash with Motivator (the 2005 Derby winner and unbeaten at that point) in the Coral Eclipse at Sandown. An injury caused his withdrawal and the Godolphin colt did not race again.
The Racing Post has carried an interview with Silvestre de Sousa. The heading is ,”the boy from Brazil is the man in demand,” and Silvestre has confirmed that he will be in India in early November. On Tuesday, Silvestre connected with Salerosa, the 11-2 favorite, in the last race at Southwell. Whether it should be pronounced Southwell or Southell (w silent) is a debate that has not been settled yet. Will someone out there say something definitive?
Eduard de Rothschild, President of France-Galop, has said that the Dar Re Mi controversy could have been handled better. He will try to harmonize interference rules among racing jurisdictions.
“Any decision made by a referee is always contested by players. Connections must have access to same information as the Stewards. It is imperative that fans are shown the race from every viewpoint. Connections’ questions must be answered expeditiously. It’s unthinkable that a jockey, in the middle of the homestraight, should have to think whether he can make a particular move because he is in France or Britain. The adrenalin level is too high,” Rothschild explained.
Aidan O’Brien has confirmed that Rip Van Winkle has come out of the QE II Stakes in good order. The Breeders’ Cup Classic is the next race for Rip Van Winkle. Mastercraftsman is also being considered for the Classic.
I wrote about Yeats recently. The venerable eight year-old, winner of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot four years running, will go in the Prix du Cadran. It is likely the last race for Yeats.
Mrs Krish arrves in London Wednesday morning. The flight from Chicago comes in at 6 50 AM. I am taking a train to Heathrow to receive her. Shopping is at the top of her shortlist but I am hoping we will be able to go to the British Public Library to see the Magna Carta original. It is hard to imagine that we are moving into the last quarter of 2009. We leave for India in mid-December.
