QATAR PRIX VERMEILLE

(GROUP 1)

FABRE had earlier landed the most prestigious of the three trials, the Group 1 Qatar Prix Vermeille, when Kitesurf got up on the line to deny Magic Wand by a head.

The winning time was 2.3 seconds quicker than the Foy yet, in contrast to Waldgeist’s silky smooth success, Kitesurf made extremely hard work of things. She struggled to go with the strong early pace set by the Ballydoyle second string, Bye Bye Baby, and had to be niggled along to ensure that she was no more than two lengths adrift of the field at the halfway stage.

It was only when her stamina came into play in the last quarter-mile that the daughter of Dubawi really found her stride and even then she looked in big trouble when Wayne Lordan squeezed through between horses to send Magic Wand for home approaching the furlong marker.

Magic Wand kept going well but was just unable to hold off the winner’s late thrust, the pair pulling two and a half lengths clear of the remainder. Third, and all-important blacktype, went to Zarkamiya, already a priceless broodmare as a daughter of Frankel and the Arc winner Zarkava.

She upheld the family honour with a career best run and Zarkava’s name remains in the record books as the fastest ever Vermeille heroine, though Kitesurf got to within four-tenths of a second of her 2008 time.

The step up in class proved too much for Worth Waiting, another three lengths back in fourth, while the Preis der Diana (German Oaks) winner, Well Timed, could manage no better than sixth.

THE ARC IS A POSSIBLE TARGET

Fabre said: “She was only a frame of a horse last year, the winter made a big difference to her, and now she is going really well. The Arc remains a possible target.”

Lisa-Jane Graffard, speaking on behalf of winning owners, Godolphin, said: “We went through every emotion during the race. [Jockey] Mickael Barzalona said that she wasn’t travelling at all in the early stages.

“They went very quick and it was important the Mickael didn’t panic, that was then key to ensuring that she finished strongly.

“Kitesurf is a typical Dubawi, this is the third straight year that he has sired the Vermeille winner. We’ll wait and see where she goes next, she’s got plenty of options, but this was really her objective.”

Matthieu Legars, French Racing Manager for Coolmore Stud, owners of Magic Wand, said: “She ran very well and was just touched off, I can’t say much more than that. We decided to ride her a bit differently today, coming from behind, and it nearly worked out.

“Ninety percent of the horses at Ballydoyle fell sick during the summer, principally during the month of July, and some have taken longer than others to recover. It’s only when they run that you find out if they have made a full recovery.”