Seven Days: Graffard Approaches the Grail

[Wandering Eyes]

Francis Graffard has had his horses on song from early spring, and anyone who felt that the trainer surely could not maintain such a good run of form is now being proved wrong.

He is so far clear of Andre Fabre in the French trainers' table that a first champion title for Graffard is starting to look a mere formality. 

As if to underline his dominance, the trainer secured two more Group 1 victories on Sunday. Goliath struck in the Grosser Preis von Baden – a first top-level win for the Adlerflug gelding since last year's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes triumph – and then less than an hour later at Longchamp the supplemented three-year-old Sahlan (Wootton Bassett), who has been brought along steadily, saw off some proven horses to claim his first Group 1 strike in the Prix du Moulin. The latter may now head to the  Breeders' Cup Mile.

Forty-three stakes races have fallen to a Graffard-trained runner this season, including eight Group 1s. While he can of course rely an a constant stream of well-bred horses as the principal trainer for the Aga Khan Studs, Graffard's octet of top winners has been spread across a range of connections. The Aga Khan Studs and Peter Brant own his two Classic fillies, Zarigana and Gezora, while the former is also the owner of Calandagan, who gave his trainer back-to-back wins in the King George after winning the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, and Candelari, winner of the upgraded Prix Vicomtesse Vigier. Sahlan and Quisisana are homebreds for Al Shaqab Racing and Haras de la Perelle respectively, while John Stewart's Resolute Racing owns the Prix Jean Prat winner Woodshauna and co-owns Goliath with Baron Philip von Ullmann.

Bow Echo Ascending

While the aforementioned Sahlan, who became Wootton Bassett's 16th Group 1 winner, is undoubtedly progressive, Rosallion continues to try the patience of his followers and was beaten only a short-head by the three-year-old when coming from an impossibly deep position in the Moulin. It is easy to see why Richard Hannon has kept the faith with Rosallion. Sometimes races are settled by the merest of margins, and this year the son of Blue Point has been separated from two extra Group 1 victories by a nose and a short-head respectively.

For Rosallion's owner-breeder Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, there was some compensation on Saturday with a stakes double at Haydock. Those winners, Zeus Olympios and Bow Echo, are both sons of Night Of Thunder, who has drawn farther clear of the chasing pack of Wootton Bassett, Dubawi and Frankel at the head of the stallion championship for Britain and Ireland. Wootton Bassett, however, has the edge in the European championship, largely thanks to the Group 1 victories in France of Henri Matisse, Camille Pissarro and Sahlan.

“He's a Guineas horse and that's what we'll be training him for,” said trainer George Boughey of Ascendant Stakes winner Bow Echo, who had been awarded a TDN Rising Star on his only previous start at Newbury on August 15. There was plenty to like about his attitude when he was headed by Juddmonte's Publish (Kingman) before fighting his was back to remain unbeaten.

Bow Echo is an intriguingly bred colt from a family with which Sheikh Mohammed Obaid has long been associated, and which gave us Dubawi. Out of the sprint winner Aristocratic Lady (Invincible Spirit), Bow Echo's granddam Dubai Queen is a half-sister to Dubawi, who also appears on his top-line as sire of Night Of Thunder, meaning that the colt is inbred 3×3 to his owner's homebred G1 Oaks d'Italia winner Zomaradah (Deploy).

Four years ago, the sheikh won the Ascendant Stakes with Triple Time (Frankel), a member of his other high-flying family of Reem Three who went on to win the G1 Queen Anne Stakes, Hopes are indeed high for Bow Echo to ascend to a similar level.

His win followed that a race earlier of Zeus Olympios in the G3 Superior Mile Stakes on just his third start. He is the first foal of Rhea (Siyouni), who had been bought by the sheikh as a yearling. It was a good weekend for the young mare as her two-year-old Valenday (Postponed) made a promising debut at York when finishing less than a length second to Proud Nation (Sioux Nation) in the seven-furlong maiden.

Arc Reshuffle

There was a shuffling of positions at the head of the betting for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after a weekend of performances on ground that may well have been much livelier than that which will be encountered at Longchamp on the first weekend of October. 

First, on Kempton's all-weather track, Kalpana (Study Of Man) was downed by Giavellotto (Mastercraftsman) in the G3 September Stakes, the race she won last year en route to victory in the G1 Qipco British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes. She has run admirably this season without winning, and her trainer Andrew Balding did not seem overly concerned with her defeat by Giavellotto, who is being primed by Marco Botti to defend his title in the G1 Hong Kong Vase.

Aventure (Sea The Stars), who had had to play bridesmaid to Bluestocking (Camelot) in both the Prix Vermeille and Arc last year, finally bagged a deserved win at the top tier when emulating her half-sister Left Hand (Dubawi) by winning the Vermeille for the Wertheimers and Christophe Ferland.

The Japanese challenge strengthened when Byzantine Dream (Epiphaneia), trained by Tomoyasu Sakaguchi, outran treble Group 1 winner Sosie (Sea The Stars) in the G2 Prix Foy. There was better news for Sosie's trainer Andre Fabre, however, with the late flourish of the boxed-in Cualificar (Lope De Vega) in the G2 Prix Niel, to beat Bay City Roller (New Bay) by a short neck.

The winner, who had himself been beaten only half a length by Camille Pissarro when second in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club, is as long as 25/1 with some bookmakers for the Arc, which seems generous considering this success on his first attempt at a mile and a half. Out of the Oaks winner Qualify, whose sire Fastnet Rock died on Monday, Cualificar's second and third dams are by the Derby winners Galileo and The Minstrel, and he handles some cut in the ground. Then there is the small matter of his trainer having won the Arc eight times since 1987.

This is by no means a tipping column, but it is worth noting that three of the current top six in the Arc betting are trained in Japan: the Tokyo Yushun winner Croix Du Nord (Kitasan Black) is third choice behind Minnie Hauk (Frankel) and Aventure, followed by Byzantine Dream, who understandably shortened following his Foy victory, and Alohi Alii (Duramente), who beat Rashabar and Cualificar in the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville last month. 

Balding and Haggas Making Hay

Despite Kalpana's defeat, Andrew Balding still had a successful day at Kempton on Saturday where he won the G3 Sirenia Stakes with Five Ways (Kameko), a fourth-generation homebred for Dr John Hobby, while up at Thirsk fellow juvenile Simplify (Profitable) joined the list of winners. Capping a good afternoon, Norman Court Stud and Susan Bunney's Miss Information (Blue Point) landed the Listed Wackenhut Fillies Cup at Baden-Baden, while Flora Of Bermuda (Dark Angel) was third in the the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup. The latter represented a major breakthrough for Shadwell sire Mohaather, whose son Big Mojo became his first Group 1 winner in the contest. 

William Haggas had a similarly productive weekend, with five of his 12 runners on Saturday returning to the winner's enclosure, including a one-two in Haydock's Old Borough Cup with The Reverend (Lope De Vega) and Dramatic Star (Sea The Stars).

The Haggas team suffered mixed fortunes on Sunday when favourite Almeraq (Dark Angel) clipped heels and fell in the Listed Garrowby Stakes at York, bringing down Tiger Bay (Harry Angel). Victory went the way of the Haggas/Shadwell second string Elmonjed (Blue Point) but little celebration will have ensued as jockeys Jim Crowley and Trevor Whelan were tended to on the track and will now face time on the sidelines with broken legs.

Fortunately, neither horse appeared to have been injured in the melee, but this sadly was not the case following a similar incident at Ascot on Friday when Excellent Echo (Due Diligence) suffered a fatal injury at Ascot after under Oisin Murphy after clipping heels and falling, with Nordic Norm (Saxon Warrior) also being brought down. Murphy walked away unscathed but Nordic Norm's jockey Sam James was stood down from his rides over the next few days with concussion.

Study Of Man Goes Global

On Sunday, Study of Man was represented by his first winner in Japan, the land where he was conceived, with the victory of two-year-old Kikko Bello on debut at Hanshin. This current crop of two-year-olds for the Lanwades stallion numbers 65 and has so far supplied winners in Britain, France, Germany and Japan.

Study Of Man is bred on the same Deep Impact-Storm Cat cross as Japan's reigning champion sire Kizuna, who is again at the head of the table for this season.

 

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