IRISH involvement may have been restricted to having bred all three big winners, but Sunday’s three pattern races on the final day of the August Deauville Festival produced a most cosmopolitan bunch of winning connections.
The showpiece event was the Group 2 Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de Deauville over one mile, four furlongs and 110 yards and, despite persistent rain, it produced arguably the month’s best finish. The nine-year-old William Haggas-trained gelding Al Aasy - close to retirement after his last run,finishing only third in a Goodwood Group 3 he had won in the two previous campaigns - overtook four rivals in the last 100 yards to score by a short neck from Chestnut Rocket with Arrow Eagle, Mazzala and Global Health all close behind. Remarkably, this represents the high-water mark in the career of the Shadwell Estate Company-owned Al Aasy, who first set foot on a racecourse back in 2019 and came within a neck of Group 1 glory when touched off in the Coronation Cup at Epsom two years later.
Harrington & Moyglare listed double
Jessica Harrington, Shane Foley and Moyglare Stud Farm pulled off a remarkable listed race double with two fillies at ParisLongchamp on Thursday.
They won the 10-furlong Prix de Liancourt with Moonlit Sun (three-year-old by Sea The Moon) and the 14-furlong Prix Joubert with Marazion (four-year-old by Sea The Stars). The first one won at 22/1 and the second at 11/1. Both scored by half a length.
Moonlit Sun had previously finished fourth in the Killarney listed race won by Jagged Edge and came into Thursday’s race with a rating of 92.
Marazion brought a rating of just 89, having finished fifth of 11 last time out in the Curragh handicap won by Yousaynothingatall.
These wins follow the success of the Harrington-trained Hotazhell in a German Group 1 in July.
WHILE the Grand Prix so nearly witnessed a landmark success for Poland, the very next race, the Group 3 Barriere Prix de Meautry over six furlongs, produced a magic moment for Scandinavian racing as Great Wish gave Denmark its biggest victory in France for more than 20 years.
The five-year-old Night Of Thunder gelding achieved the feat in such style - by four and a half lengths no less - that further international sprints could prove to be within his reach in the coming weeks. Although the winning margin was a surprise, Great Wish had done enough in five previous starts this season - three in Dubai and one in Group 1 company at Royal Ascot. - to be sent off as the 3/1 favourite from a field of 10.
“He won easily and is a superb horse who always gives his best and never lets us down,” said trainer Bent Olsen after Great Wish’s victory. “He could come back here for the Prix de la Foret on Arc Day and also has an entry in the British Champions Sprint Stakes [at Ascot on October 17th].”
Wathnan winner
The powerful Wathnan Racing ownership group of the Qatari royal family enjoyed a spectacular 24 hours over the weekend, landing big races in America, France, Germany and England.
The French leg of the four-timer was provided in the Group 3 Barriere Prix Quincey by Diego Ventura, a four-year-old Mehmas gelding who was prepared in Newmarket by the Qatar native Hamad Al Jehani. Initially trained in Ireland by Gavin Cromwell prior to his sale following a Naas maiden win on his juvenile debut, Diego Ventura showed admirable fighting qualities to come out on top by a head from Half Half after the pair had proved almost inseparable throughout the entire duration of Deauville’s straight mile.