28 March 2020
Photo scoopdyga.com
Every week, in a series of articles entitled "Back in 2019", while we wait for the resumption of racing in France, we invite you to look again at last season's main events, updated with what happened next ... Every Thursday, we will also remind you of the best maiden winners from last year.
Saturday, March 30, 2019, Saint-Cloud. - The Prix Edmond Blanc (Gr2) gathered six horses aged 4 and more over the mile trip. Many were waiting to find out how 2018 classic winner Olmedo (Declaration of War), winner of the 2018 Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas, Gr1), would fare for his return after 265 days out!
Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, he settled for fourth place, without having really threatened the top three in the last furlong. This trio consisted in the front-runner Graphite (Shamardal), The Revenant (Dubawi), who had just posted a third consecutive success on this course in the Prix Altipan (L), and champion Solow’s sister Lunch Lady (Shamardal). The latter had to oblige in 3rd only a short neck behind the first two home while The Revenant proved the most resilient and won by a head. This 4-year-old chestnut is a gelding -like Graphite. He began his career across the Channel and joined Francis Graffard's stables last September. He has now won five races in France in six outings ... He was Bred by his owner, Al Asayl, who owns his dam, Hazel Lavery (Excellent Art), winner of the St Simon Stakes (Gr3) in England, who recently gave a filly by Kingman and another by Oasis Dream.
Starmaniac (Sea the Stars) snatched victory in the Class 1 race for 3-year-old colts and geldings, the 2,100-metre Prix Tourbillon. The Wertheimer & Frère homebred took time to get momentum but finally contained Makmour (Rock of Gibraltar), beaten by half a length, and Goya Senora (Anodin), who fought like a lion and lost second place only by a short head. Entered in the QIPCO Prix du Jockey Club (Gr1) and in the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris (Gr1), Starmaniac is now a winner of two races. It was his seasonal comeback.
Starmaniac is out of Plumania (Anabaa), a Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Gr1) winner and twice 2nd in the Prix Vermeille (Gr1), also 3rd in one Prix de Diane (Gr1)… It is an outstanding family as Balladeuse (Singspiel), Starmaniac's sister, has already foaled Left Hand (Dubawi), who won the Prix Vermeille.
Plumania also gave Maniaco (Galileo) and Plumatic (Dubawi), two good winners. After Starmaniac, she also gave a Frankel colt now in training at La Teste with Christophe Ferland, and a Sea The Stars filly.
In the fillies’ equivalent, the Prix Durban, Cartiem (Cape Cross) won handily after following Eliade (Teofilo) who gave her some work to concede only a neck. The two fillies left Body Zane (Planteur) to beat the rest of the field three lengths behind. Cartiem started her career in the valuable Prix des Marettes last summer in Deauville with a sixth place. She had then won at Compiegne in September.
Mintaka (Zamindar), the dam of Cartiem, won once at Nancy and was then bought € 90,000 from the Aga Khan at Arqana breeding sales in December 2014. As for Cartiem, she was bought € 140,000 by Jean-Claude Rouget, like her Charm Spirit sister last October, in Deauville, for € 70,000 €. Mintaka’s dam is a sister to champion Manighar (Linamix).
The aftermath ...
The Revenant did much better later in the season. He skipped the Prix du Muguet (Gr2), run on the same course on May 1, but went on to win the Badener Meile (Gr2) in Baden-Baden at the end of May. He was off the whole Summer and came back the day before the Arc in the Prix Daniel Wildenstein (Gr2), which he won, again beating Olmedo, whom he was giving two pounds. At Ascot on Champions Day, he bowed out with a 2nd place in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Gr1). He is back in training this season with Francis-Henri Graffard.
Olmedo has had a rather patchy year. Owned of Gérard Augustin-Normand and Antonio Caro, he failed a month later at Royal Ascot but sprung back in the Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club (Gr2) in August at Deauville, which he won before finishing fourth in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (Gr1) at ParisLongchamp, on his way to his second place behind The Revenant. He was then exported to Australia where he has just returned, on March 14 at Rosehill Gardens near Sydney, in a Group 3 race over 1,500 meters ... A new career is beginning for him Down Under.
The Revenant's sister by Kingman, now 4 years old, was sold for € 240,000 a yearling in Deauville in August 2017 to Al Rabban Bloodstock, who since then put her in training in England with three consecutive trainers, but she's still a maiden after five outings, the lastest one in January
Winner of the Prix Durban, Starmaniac went on to take the third place in the Prix Greffulhe (Gr2), a French Derby prep race, on this same course and distance, but completely failed in the QIPCO Prix du Jockey Club (Gr1), his last race to date. Cartiem, on the other hand, confirmed in the Prix Pénélope (Gr3) but was unplaced in the Prix de Diane Longines (Gr1). She took the third place in the Shadwell Prix de la Nonette (Gr2) the following summer, however, before being purchased for € 750,000 at the Arqana Arc sales by Australian breeder Bob Scarsborough, and exported to Ireland. Her dam Mintaka was sold € 34,000 barren at last December sales in Deauville.
It is also this Saturday, March 30, 2019, that two French or French-based jockeys won the two main events of the Dubai World Cup night: Christophe Soumillon scored on Thunder Snow in the big race, for the second consecutive year, and Christophe Lemaire won with the Japanese champion mare Almond Eye in the Dubai Turf (Gr1).