11 December 2016
Photo : scoopdyga.com
7yo Satanicjim won the Prix Max Sicard (L) last season and he came back to Toulouse to win it again on Sunday.
Sunday, December 11, 2016, La Cépière (Toulouse). - Winner of the the 2015 Prix Max Sicard (L), 15th and final stage of the Défi du Galop challenge, Satanicjim (Pivotal) prevailed again in the 2016 renewal with a late surge which took him 2 lengths ahead of British raider Chemical Charge (Sea The Stars), always spotted in the leading group along with 3rd placed Holdthasigreen Hold That Tiger).
Although he was unplaced on Sunday, Best Fouad (King's Best) still won the Defi du Galop Challenge as he's the only winner of three stages. His owner LG Bloodstock pockets a € 150,000 bonus.
Satanicjim was bred by Moorpark Stud in Ireland, twice his vendor at the sales : first as a weanling in Ireland (70,000 Guineas) and then at the yearling Orby sales, where he was sold for €32,000. Then he fetched €185,000 at the Arqana Breeze up sale and won three handicaps at 3yo when trained by Rodolphe Collet. He also finished fourth in the Prix Gladiateur (Gr3) at Longchamp last year, still wearing the colors of HSpirit although he had joined Alain Couétil's yard. Last Autumn, he made it again to the sales and Alain Couétil bought him for €30,000 days before his first success in the Prix Max Sicard (L), which he won a second time this year for owner Karine Perreau and the Société d'entraînement Alain Couétil.