Vichy 2YO Maidens - 15th July

PRIX MARC PIMBONNET

Race won by Go Man. He has an official rating of 39.5-kilos following 3 runs at Marseille and Chantilly. Finished 3rd, beaten 2-lengths by Shiri in the C2 Prix de la Croix des Veneurs at Chantilly in June, from where his rating has been calculated. Possibly slightly flattered by that given that he made a mid-race move to close and then got no closer in the last quarter of a mile, but delivered enough to think he could win a maiden and so it proved. Sat wider and initially looked caught out for pace, but stayed don strongly and quickened clear with the runner-up once switching out in the final furlong, closing in 11.64s (ranked 1st) to win by just over a length.

Regal Eye is the tracker horse from this race. Made his debut here for Francis-Henri Graffard. Sat in Mid-Division on the inside and Mickael Barzalona chose to make his challenge along the inside rail. Hit the front with an 11.20s penultimate furlong. Couldn’t hold the eventual winner, but his final furlong split of 11.88s ranked 2nd and there was a gap of 2-lengths back to the 3rd. He is an Expert Eye Colt whose dam, De Veer Cliffs, won over 10-furlongs for Martyn Meade. He is a half-brother to Footwork (Charlie Johnston)who is 2-7, now rated 85 in the UK having won over a mile. His pedigree would suggest that he will stay further and with the benefit of this experience, there is something to work on here, though the fact that they came to Vichy rather than a maiden in the North should be noted. PMU 3.8(2nd Fav) suggests he was thought capable on debut, though he did receive 2-kilos from the winner for prize money earned.

Liwood was beaten favourite (3rd) and will now get a mark after finishing in the frame on all 3 starts. On his 2 previous starts he ran the fastest furlong in the race and didn’t manage to get the job done. Drawn wide in stall 8 here, but that’s no obvious reason for his defeat given that he had every chance in the straight after racing alongside the winner around the turn. Looked one paced in the drive before staying on again under a hands ride once the race was over. As an estimate, he will be given a mark of around 37-kilos, but that looks only “fair” at this point. He is a Wooded Colt, out of a dam who won over 6-furlongs and he might be better suited to a faster pace with sprint trips in handicaps later in the year possibly worth exploring. The tongue-tie, added after his debut, has not appeared to make any significant difference.

Rasseni Chop finished 4th on his debut for Stephane Lebate. He showed some bright early speed to get into a prominent position but faded once headed in the straight. Pedigree is a mixed bag, but he is a half-brother to 3 winners and the likelihood is that he will stay further in time. Best described as minor promise without looking like a winner in waiting.

PRIX MICHEL HENOCHSBERG

Certainly an “eye-catching” debut from  Special Wood. She was virtually last turning in and made her challenge wide, at least 5-widths away from the rest of the field and she must have made up 8-9 lengths on the leaders in the final quarter of a mile. Closed in furlongs of 10.89 and 11.32s and was over a second quicker than anything else in the closing stages. Supplementary entry for this. She is a Wooded Filly whose Dam is a half-sister to the Prix du Moulin winner Sauterne. JPJ Dubois does very well with this family, but an SP of 22 PMU would suggest that her connections weren’t overly confident. The runner-up has raced prominently with a finishing speed of 106%, so this wasn’t a case of the pace collapsing in front of her. She’d need to do this again, but she has shown a lot of ability to win in this manner on debut.

Baklawa didn’t do anything wrong on debut. Broke well and raced prominently, looking like the winner with a couple of furlongs to run before the winner came into view. Her dam won 8 times and the family has plenty of pattern form between 6-furlongs and a mile. Showed bright early speed from a wide draw to get across, opening with splits of 14.40 and 11.39s. Plenty to work on and should find a maiden in the South around a bend on this evidence.

Baileys Encanta was 4th on debut at Chantilly for Amy Murphy behind Bandiagara and probably ran to a similar level here. Raced very prominently after breaking well from a high draw and appeared to pay for that in the closing stages, where both the 4th and 5th placed horses were faster over the last 600m. Her Dam, Love Baileys, was a winner over 6-furlongs at York for the same connections and she shaped like the return to 1,200m might be more suitable, though the temptation to get a mark and run in 2YO handicaps must be there now too. On course for a mark of around 35/36-kilos at this point.

Scaletta produced a better effort than when 5th behind Green Spirit on debut at Saint-Cloud in May. Drawn widest in stall 14 didn’t help and she was forced to race towards the rear and 3-wide around the turn. Briefly looked like playing a hand, but readily passed by the winner and faded late. Has some ability, but perhaps not one of Graffard’s leading lights. An SP of 4.2 PMU was perhaps a reflection of her connections form rather than what she had shown on debut.

Meisho Sugar closed in 11.82s (ranked 2nd) and having been alongside the winner around the home turn, Eddy Hardouin chose to take a braver route through the field on the inside rail. Did get a clear run and no match for the winner, but made some good late headway under a hands ride and should be sharper next time.