23 August 2019
Photo scoopdyga.com
The last time Ziyad (Rock of Gibraltar) ran, he finished second in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Gr1) behind Coronet, who has since won the Darley Prix Jean Romanet (Gr1) in Deauville.
Sunday in the Lucien Barrière Grand Prix de Deauville (Gr2), the main race on the final Sunday card of the meeting, the Wertheimer & Frère homebred will try to win his first Group race, and his first Grand Prix since before finishing second in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, he also finished second in the Chantilly equivalent, a Group 2 event.
Who can bar him from succeeding this time? The best rating apart from his in this 8-strong field is held by a horse from the Czech Republic, Nagano Gold (Sixties Icon), also credited with a 116lbs rating since he finished second in June to Defoe in the 1m4f Hardwicke Stakes (Gr2) at the Royal Ascot. Last year, Nagano Gold was fourth in this race, nearly four lengths behind the winner Loxley, but less than two lengths behind the second-placed Master's Spirit (Mastercraftsman), a Marseilles-based, Haras de la Gousserie-owned who'd previously beaten him in the Grand Prix of Vichy (Gr3) on heavy ground and is also in the race on Sunday. Nagano Gold's stablemate at Vaclav Luka's stable, First Lion (Zanzibari), has recently joined the yard from France and will probably lead the way for him with a rating of 77lbs.
Second in the 2018 edition of this race, Master's Spirit has just finished fourth in the Prix de Reux (Gr3) on the same course and distance, a head in front of Gyllen (Medaglia d'Oro), who is also back on Sunday. Winner of the 2017 edition, Tiberian (Tiberius Caesar) seems to struggle nowadays.
Two females complete the field. The 4-year-old Villa Rosa (Doctor Dino) won her last two races including the Grand Prix de Lyon (L), in which Master's Spirit and Tiberian were respectively penultimate and last. The only 3-year-old in the race, Soft Light (Authorized) finished second in the Prix Hocquart Longines (Gr2) and fifth in the Juddmonte Grand Prix of Paris (Gr1) for owner Claudio Marzocco.