‘It’s The Right Time To Discover A Good Horse In The Making’ – Reynier Among Many Relishing Cagnes Fest

[Wandering Eyes]

Of late, the chance of spotting a potential luminary at the provincial tracks of France or the all-weather in England has become very real and now that January is nearing the midway point it is essential to pay close attention. Monday sees Cagnes-sur-Mer kick off its six-week flat programme aside the Mediterranean and it begins with the Prix de Caucade which has unveiled a recent jewel.

It was in this 7 1/2-furlong three-year-old debutantes race for fillies in 2019 that Jean-Claude Rouget unveiled Siyouni's future E. P. Taylor heroine Etoile and the yard is represented this time by Jan Romel's Roseninsel (Toronado), a half-sister to a former Cagnes winner in Back To Black. She will face a duo from the Jerome Reynier stable in Mustafa Bousaif's Al Rateel (Violence) and James Wigan's Aspire (Zarak).

It was at this venue that Reynier introduced Lazzat in the Prix de Fabron for colts and geldings two years ago and intriguingly he saddles Qamran by the same sire Territories in the same race for the same connections on Monday. The third-highest-priced yearling of the 2024 Tattersalls October Book 2 when selling to Sumbe for 750,000gns, the full-brother to the Railway and Marble Hill-placed Masseto is held in high regard.

“We really wanted to run him as a two-year-old, but he had a little setback and we wasted a little bit of time around September and October,” his trainer explained. “After that, the ground was getting too soft and I didn't really want to travel him too far away to make his debut so I asked his owner if I could follow Lazzat's path and footsteps.”

“This race, in mid-January, is good timing,” he added. “It's the first meeting, so the turf is going to be just brand new, perfect. He's very professional, very serious. It looks like he could go over shorter in the future, because he's made like a sprinter physically. If he shows enough speed, like Lazzat did, he can probably do this trip for his first time out with no problem.”

Lazzat won his first three races at Cagnes and Reynier sees the track as the ideal starting point for promising youngsters. “We didn't know he was going to be that good,” he explained. “This track is just near home for us, so it's very handy. You're leaving in the morning and you're back to the stables in the evening. It's a lovely track and the weather is amazing at the moment in the South of France. I think it's the right time to try to discover maybe a future good horse in the making.”

Thursday's action begins with the 10-furlong newcomers' event formerly known as the Prix du Suquet in which Ace Impact made his debut back in 2023 and which was renamed in his honour from that point on. Remarkably, his half-brother Arrow Eagle followed suit in the same race a year later prior to capturing the Prix Royal-Oak last term and Jean-Claude Rouget looks to unleash their half-sibling Armano (Waldgeist) in Thursday's renewal. The latest runner out of the remarkable Absolutly Me, Waltraut Spanner's homebred could be up against an intriguing Wertheimer entry in Frankish (Lope De Vega), a son of the 1,000 Guineas heroine Miss France (Dansili) from the Yann Barberot stable. It is worth noting that Rouget also won this 12 months ago with the subsequent Grand Prix de Paris hero Leffard, so this is one of the many races worth keeping a close eye on.

Cagnes will also see the workouts of the Saudi-bound Lazzat and Facteur Cheval (Ribchester) and Reynier had an update on the duo. “They're in very good shape. They will have a racecourse gallop in Cagnes-sur-Mer on 20 January to prep for the big races in Saudi,” he said. “Lazzat is aiming for the 1351 Sprint on turf and Facteur Cheval has entries in both the Saudi Cup and the Neom Turf Cup, so we will see which one he is going to be invited to and which one could suit him the best.”

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