Normandel Takes the Park Express

[Wandering Eyes]

On an Irish season-opener to remember for Jim Bolger, Ballylinch Stud’s Normandel (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) completed a treble for the yard on the Naas fixture when capturing the G3 Lodge Park Stud Irish EBF Park Express S. on Sunday. Formerly with Pia Brandt in France, the 14-1 shot who had debuted for her new stable when fourth in the 12-furlong Listed Finale S. here in November was held up in rear initially by Kevin Manning. Tackling the smooth-travelling 6-4 favourite Yulong Gold Fairy (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) with two furlongs to race, the bay saw the mile out better to score by a head from the strong-finishing Hand On Heart (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), with Yulong Gold Fairy eventually a half-length away in third.

Bolger is thinking that this trip is her maximum. “She will stay at around seven furlongs or a mile. She won a listed race in France at a mile and a quarter, but I think she’s better at seven or a mile,” he said. “She handles that ground well. She’s a very sound filly and I’d imagine she will go on better ground as well.”

Pedigree Notes

Normandel, who had been second in the G3 Prix d’Aumale over this trip at Chantilly as a juvenile and won the 10-furlong Listed Prix Melisande at Compiegne in June 2017 for Gerard Augustin-Normand, is a half-sister to Brandt’s star performer Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}) who took the 2016 G1 Grand Prix de Paris before switching to Hong Kong where he was known as Helene Charisma. The dam Lidana (Ire) (King’s Best) is a half to the G1 Premio Vittorio di Capua and G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis-winning sire Linngari (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) from the Aga Khan family of the listed-winning and G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup runner-up Livadiya (Ire) (Shernazar {Ire}). Lidana’s 2017 filly La Vespiere (Fr) is a full-sister to Mont Ormel, while she also has a yearling full-sister to Normandel named Norrey (Fr).

 

Sunday, Naas, Ireland
LODGE PARK STUD IRISH EBF PARK EXPRESS S.-G3, €77,500, Naas, 3-24, 3yo/up, f/m, 8fT, 1:49.31, y/s.
1–NORMANDEL (FR), 137, m, 5, by Le Havre (Ire)
                1st Dam: Lidana (Ire), by King’s Best
                2nd Dam: Lidakiya (Ire), by Kahyasi (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Lilissa (Ire), by Doyoun (Ire)
1ST GROUP WIN. (€280,000 RNA HRA ’17 ARARC).
O-Ballylinch Stud; B-S.A. Franklin Finance (FR); T-Jim Bolger;
J-Kevin Manning. €45,725. Lifetime Record: SW & GSP-Fr,
13-3-1-1, $133,304. *1/2 to 2013 Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief
Marshal {Ire}), Hwt. 3yo-Fr at 11-14f, G1SW-Fr & GSP-HK,
$916,797. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
   Werk Nick Rating: B.
2–Hand On Heart (Ire), 137, f, 4, Mastercraftsman (Ire)–Insight
(Fr), by Sadler’s Wells. (€75,000 Ylg ’16 GOFORB). O-Flaxman
Stables Ireland Ltd & Mrs M V Magnier & Mrs John Magnier;
B-Niarchos Family (IRE); T-Fozzy Stack. €14,725.
3–Yulong Gold Fairy (GB), 140, f, 4, Mount Nelson (GB)–Quite a
Thing (GB), by Dutch Art (GB). (3,000gns Wlg ’15 TATFOA;
€8,000 Ylg ’16 GOFSPT). O-Zhang Yuesheng; B-Lady Fairhaven
(GB); T-Dermot Weld. €6,975.
Margins: HD, HF, 1HF. Odds: 14.00, 20.00, 1.50.
Also Ran: Iiex Excelsa (Ire), Fresnel (GB), Delphinia (Ire), Ellthea (Ire), Drombeg Dream (Ire), Rionach (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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