6 September 2020
Photo scoopdyga.com
Sunday, September 6, 2020, ParisLongchamp. – It was a matter of stride and his rider had lost his reins in a heated finish, but Hurricane Dream (Hurricane Cat) was indeed denied a fifth win in five outings by a short head. Yet he lost nothing in defeat to the winner Chachnak (Kingman), who stayed on bravely in the Prix du Prince d'Orange (Gr3), a 3-year-olds race over 1m2f which served as a preparatory race for the Qatar Prix de l 'Arc de Triomphe (Gr3) on a few occasions in the distant past, and is now run four weeks before the big event rather than two weeks as it used to be.
Chachnak was bred by Écurie La Vallée Martigny, owned by former Defence Minister Hervé Morin, who was on the spot on Sunday at ParisLongchamp to attend the rebirth of his colt, trained by Fabrice Vermeulen. Like Hurricane Dream, he had bit the dust in the French Derby after a promising series, notably with a victory in the Prix de Guiche (Gr3), but unlike Hurricane Dream, he had not raced since, hence his 20/1 odds today.
Never mind, he held on until the end after slipping between the leaders in the homestretch to take over two furlongs out and keep going to the wire. Like the third-placed Grocer Jack (Oasis Dream), who was also third in the German Derby before being disqualified, he came a long way to complete the last two furlongs at full speed, but it wasn't enough to win!
Chachnak, who bears the name of a pharaoh, is out of Tamazirte (Danehill Dancer), who finished second in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1,000 Guineas, Gr1) and the Prix de Diane (French Oaks, Gr1). However, he was unsold at € 95,000 at the Deauville yearling sales and started his career with a winning debut at Vichy. He then confirmed in a Class 1 race at Chantilly. Sixth in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (Gr1), then in a Marseilles Listed, he finished third for his return in 2020 and in the Prix La Force (Gr3), 3 lengths behind Océan Atlantique, winner of the Prix Suresnes (L) since then and also well beaten in the Jockey Club. He won the Prix de Guiche (Gr3) after that but was unable to keep up in the French Derby.
Chachnak was bred by the Écurie La Vallée Martigny and Écurie du Loup, he races for the former and Écurie des Mouettes.
Click here to get the sectional timing of the race.