POULE D’ESSAI DES
POULICHES (GROUP 1)
JEAN-CLAUDE Rouget was landing back to back victories in the Pouliches and in the classic for a third time when he saddled the Aga Khan’s Ervedya in the one-mile event. She is a most consistent daughter of Siyouni who has been racing in top class company for most of her career.
Ervedya ran out the comfortable winner of the Pouliches from the 25/1 chance Irish Rookie who was bred by Kevin and Meta Cullen at their Middlelane Farm at Naas Co Kildare. Trained by Martyn Mead and ridden by Fergus Sweeney, she was paying an enormous compliment to Legatissimo who had beaten her eight lengths in the Qipco 1000 Guineas just a week before.
The winner did not have the best of drawers (number 12) but Christophe Soumillon bided his time and produced his filly at exactly the right moment.
From the off, the former Italian Fontanelice was asked by Thierry Jarnet to go from pillar to post and she made a game effort to complete her task before staying on one paced to take fourth place.
Irish Rookie was always up with Fergus Sweeney and they took command at the furlong post where Ervedya was being slipped into top gear by her Belgian pilot. She quickened like a class act and comfortably beat Irish Rookie by three-quarters of a length, who was very brave in the closing stages and held on by a neck to beat the Prix de la Grotte winner Mexican Gold by a neck for second place.
Ervedya has now won five of her seven races. She opened her account at Tarbes in the south west of France nearly a year ago and lifted a small race at Maisons-Laffitte before a Group 3 success against mainly colts at Deauville in the Prix du Cabourg-Jockey Club de Turkuie.
The filly was then dropped in at the deep end by Rouget as she contested the Darley Prix Morny where she took third place behind The Wow Signal and the American colt Hootenanny.
Rested until the autumn, Ervedya ended her juvenile season by chasing Found home in the Total Prix Marcel Boussac.
A winning pipe opener in the Prix Imprudence this year put her spot on for the Pouliches which Rouget was winning for the third time after the success of Elusive Wave in 2009 and Avenir Certain last year. The Pau-based trainer has a soft spot for Ervedya. “I adore this filly and she has everything. She has class, Group 1 acceleration, a perfect temperament and can even cope with the worst sort of ground. She is easy to train and easy to ride although slowly away from the stalls this time. It was her finishing speed which counted in the end. A real miler and it now seems logical to run Ervedya in the Coronation Stakes at Ascot.”
The Aga Khan was winning a fifth Pouliches and his racing and stud manager Georges Rimaud was delighted: “We stand both Siyouni and Makfi (Make Believe) so it was a classic double for the Bonneval. It was an exceptional day for our filly and also for our stallions.”
Of Irish Rookie, trainer Martyn Meade commented: “She came out of the 1000 Guineas so well, we decided to run her back after just a week. There was a little cut in the ground which was an advantage. She came a little too soon but I am still thrilled as she ran a great race. Also, it was just her fourth race and her first round a turn. The filly was also travelling for the first time away from Newmarket. Royal Ascot is a future option.”
The Prix de la Grotte winner Mexican Gold was outpaced in the dying stages in third place and she may well run in the Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly at the end of the month.