29 October 2023
Photo scoopdyga.com
Sunday, October 29, 2023, ParisLongchamp Racecourse (Paris) - The racegoers at ParisLongchamp were treated to a true showcase in the €350,000 Royal-Oak (Gr1), a weight-for-age 2-miler and the final Group 1 event of the French season, also marking the conclusion of the meeting at the Bois de Boulogne racecourse. The sole 3-year-old in the race, Double Major (Daiwa Major), the victor of the Qatar Prix Chaudenay (Gr2), took the lead and left his competitors behind at the entrance to the home straight, winning on very heavy ground by an impressive 7.5 lengths over Skazino (Kendargent), who had tracked him along the rail, and Tashkan (Born To Sea), who had always been in close company. As is often the case when the turf becomes heavy, the margins between finishers were particularly significant, but Double Major's demonstration is nonetheless remarkable.
Bred by Wertheimer & Frère, Double Major started in March with a second-place finish at Deauville, which was followed by his first victory in Toulouse over 2,100 metres. He had recently finished second three times at the Listed level, including once in Vichy's Prix Frédéric de Lagrange (L). He has found his calling in longer distances, as evidenced here, as well as on very soft tracks.
He is the fourth foal out of Dancequest (Dansili), a winner at Deauville and placed in Listed races, and already the dam of the talented Flop Shot (New Approach). Dancequest is also the daughter of Featherquest (Rainbow Quest), from whom descend Plumania and Balladeuse, accomplished race mares and broodmares.
Registered for the 2023 Arc sales, he was not presented...
His sire, Daiwa Major, a champion sprinter/miler in his country, is a son of the American stallion Sunday Silence, a major figure in Japanese breeding, and a daughter of Northern Taste, an import from France who enjoyed success for the Yoshida family. This chestnut with significant white markings, much like Sunday Silence, also had a considerable influence on the development of breeding at Shadai Farm, where both these stallions were based and where they are laid to rest today.