2006
THE upset of the French season occurred last Sunday when Hurricane Run was swept off course by Pride in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
The 1/5 favourite looked to have his fourth Group 1 race in the bag halfway up the straight, but then Pride arrived on the scene. She took the advantage 20 yards out and went on to win by a head. So what went wrong?
In fact, not very much, and Hurricane Run is still favourite for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot on July 28th, although Ladbrokes’ Mike Dillon did ease the colt from 4/5 to 5/4.
Hurricane Run looked fine in the paddock, where Pride was the pick. He flowed down to the start and then settled into third place early on behind the pacemakers Petrograd and Near Honor, who went at a fair gallop considering the going had turned into the very soft variety.
Kieren Fallon wasn’t totally inactive on Hurricane Run in the early stages, and the pair took the advantage early in the straight. From then on it looked pretty straightforward until Christophe Lemaire set Pride alight at the furlong marker. She quickened and arrived at the head of affairs at exactly the right moment.
Owned and bred by Sven Hanson at his Haras du Vieux Pont in lower Normandy, Pride was the first female to win the Grand Prix since User Friendly in 1993.
“This is my best moment in racing since Fair Salinia [1978 Oaks], and it was a good decision not to go for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Ascot,” was Hanson’s initial reaction. “It is Pride’s first Group 1 success, so we now have a big dividend for keeping her in training at six.”
Alain de Royer-Dupré, who was winning the Grand Prix for the first time, added: “The ground came right for Pride and this was a very satisfying victory. We thought Hurricane Run might take the lead early in the straight, and possibly lose concentration when passing the big screens near the finish. The mare could go for the Yorkshire Oaks, but she is more likely to be saved for an autumn campaign.”
Genius
Lemaire rode Pride like a genius, and had his mount at exactly the right place throughout the 12 furlongs. He remarked: “She accelerated and was very courageous at the end. Pride deserved this Group 1 success so much, and she must have put up the performance of the year.”
Christy Grassick, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith were all at Saint-Cloud to support Hurricane Run, and they were left scratching their heads a little after the race. “He was never travelling and didn’t have his usual aplomb. It’s all a bit of a mystery, and he still runs in the King George as far as I know,” Tabor said.
Fallon was also perplexed. “He was not himself today, and I was at him a furlong from the start. The colt ran flat, and maybe he had a headache or something. If he could talk I would love to ask him what was wrong this afternoon.”
André Fabre felt Hurricane Run did take his mind off the job when he saw the trees at the end of the straight. It was also his first time running left-handed and at Saint-Cloud. The Frenchman was not at all fazed by the run, and reported that he would be spot on for the King George.
Another thing in favour of Pride, who has now won seven of her 22 races and nearly £1.2 million in prize money, was the small field. She hates having other horses around her, and Lemaire was able to keep the mare on her own, The Prix d’Ispahan winner Laverock made up late ground to finish third, in front of Policy Maker.
[Pride went on to add two more Group 1 wins, in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket and the Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin. Her many Group 1 placings included finishing a neck second to Rail Link in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. She earned nearly £2.2 million and was the champion older mare in Europe in 2006.
At stud she is the dam of five winners, her son One Foot In Heaven (Fastnet Rock) being a dual Group 2 winner. This three-year-old full-brother sold as a yearling for 725,000gns, while Pride has a yearling colt by Lope De Vega]
Historical shorts
1931
ONE can look forward to some keen military jumping at this year’s Dublin Horse Show. No less than seven outside countries have accepted the invitation to send teams to compete for the Aga Khan’s International Cup, and here we have the basis for many sporting competitions.
The visiting countries are Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. To these are to be added, of course, Ireland, making eight teams in all. The team that will be missed is that of England, and it will be missed badly. By the way, the Aga Khan’s Cup will be competed for at three o’clock on Friday, the last day of the show.
1956
THE Irish National Stud Co. Ltd advertise that Panaslipper, winner of the Irish Derby and second to Phil Drake in the English Derby, will take up stud duties next season at a fee of 250gns on the ‘no foal, no fee’ basis. He will be limited to 30 mares in 1957.
Applications for nominations should be sent to the manager of the National Stud by July 18th, giving the name of the mare with pedigree, racing performances and breeding record. Applicants are limited to one nomination.
2006
THE inaugural winners of the Connolly’s Red Mills/The Irish Field Breeder of the Year competition are David and Diane Nagle of Barronstown Stud. The Nagles received their award at a dinner in the Hanged Man’s in Milltown, near the Curragh.
Among those to represent Barronstown with distinction on the racecourse in the past year were Yeats, Oratorio and Horatio Nelson, while the Co Wicklow nursery also bred the dam of Japanese star Deep Impact.
Announcing the result, The Irish Field’s managing editor Leo Powell said: “Few farms have as consistent a record of breeding at the highest levels than the winners of this year’s award. They have not had a perfect year, losing one of their most loved progeny at Epsom, but they bounced back at Royal Ascot when Yeats was commanding in landing the Gold Cup. Their influence has been truly global.”
Accepting the award, David Nagle was keen to give due credit to those who handle the breeding stock on the farm, and to “our breeding partner” John Magnier.
2006
PAUL Townend from Lisgoold, Midleton, Co Cork was crowned champion jockey at Castleisland Races in Co Kerry last weekend. The 15-year-old won four races over the two-day meeting.
Jockey Danny Mullins from Goresbridge, Co Kilkenny, Emmet McNamara from Rathkeale. Co Limerick, and Kate O’Brien from Dingle each scored a treble at the meeting. Cork riders Darragh Lordan from Innishannon and Pat Mangan from Conna both recorded doubles.