Cassie Tully takes a look at the leading contenders for the French 1000 and 2000 Guineas from a pedigree perspective.
French Racing has never been so celebrated from outside of its own borders. The nation is single-handedly allowing us to cling on to some sense of normality in these far from normal times.
We would ordinarily, in a typical year, have run 12 Group One races across Europe by this stage and would be feasting our eyes upon the Investet Derby Festival at Epsom this week.
This year, however, the French Guineas is Christmas morning arriving at last.
Down through the years, the Polule d’Essai des Poulains has been won by many horses who subsequently went on to great success at stud, including the likes of Blushing Groom, Kingmambo, Linamix and Shamardal.
Five years after his own victory in the race, Shamardal in turn sired the winner Lope De Vega. And both father and son have major contenders in Monday's renewal.
Victor Ludorum, representing last year’s winning owner and trainer, is seeking to replicate his father’s win for Godolphin and is the market leader to do so after ending his juvenile season unbeaten, including victory in the Group One Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.
He was beaten on his reappearance this season by The Summit and Ecrivain but so was Shamardal on his start before the Guineas too.
Touched on before in this column, Victor Ludorum is in fact in-bred to his sire. Helen Street, Shamardal’s Irish Oaks winning grandam, is also Victor Ludorum’s great-grandam, among the host of other Group One performers littered throughout his pedigree.
Lope De Vega’s two hopes to try and continue the legacy his father has begun are Ecrivain and Arapaho. These two horses actually have three French 2000 Guineas winners in their sire line as Lope De Vega’s damsire Vettori also won the race in 1995.
Along with Victor Ludorum, Ecrivain is another horse with enviable relatives. He stems from the family of Kentucky Oaks winner Blush With Pride which has given us Rags to Riches, the European champion Peeping Fawn and her daughter September.
Although winning his first two starts including a Group Three, Ecrivain finished behind both Victor Ludorum and Alson in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, and also behind The Summit on his start this year.
Arapaho’s profile is quite different. None of his female family have won a race beyond Listed level. However, he does have the appeal of being privately purchased by the Coolmore partners last year and also being trained by Andre Fabre, who has already won this race seven times.
As well as that, he made a winning return to the race track this year, similar to The Gurkha and Brametot, who won the previous two renewals of the Guineas that were staged in Deauville.
Fabre’s third challenger this year is an interesting one. Transferred to his stable after a highly exciting campaign last year, Alson is the only horse in the race to have started in two Group Ones already. He was within three-quarters-of-a-length when second to Victor Ludorum in the Lagardere last year, beating Ballydoyle’s Armory and Ecrivain in the process. Alson proved that was no fluke when taking the two-runner Criterium International by 20 lengths from the reopposing Armory.
His main negative, however, is that he is the only horse in the field not to have had a prep race this year and the last 20 winners all had a run before their Classic win (albeit there was no halted racing in those years).
When winning the Criterium International, Alson was the first Group One winner for his now 25-year-old German sire Areion, a consistent producer of Stakes winners throughout his stallion career.
And while Alson might be the first top level winner for Areion, he is certainly not for Galileo who is broodmare sire in this case. Amongst Galileo’s 31 Group One winners in this discipline, he has produced six Guineas winners already.
Initially pencilled for the British 2000 Guineas, Alson could well be the seventh.
Fabre leads the way in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches as well, with Tropbeau the daughter of Showcasing, the most promising son of Oasis Dream to date, lining up against the unbeaten Simeen for the Aga Khan.
While Tropbeau has some Group One form to her name, as well as a Group Two win, Simeen is untried at Group level. She is by Lope De Vega and out of a winning full sister to Sarafina, a filly who won her maiden on debut before wins in the Prix Saint-Alary and French Oaks for the Aga Khan on her next two starts. So Simeen’s lack of Group form should not put anyone off.
Tickle Me Green, placed so far in three Group Three contests, is closely related to Group One performers Garswood, last year’s Falmouth winner Veracious, Infallible, Mutakayyef, and so on. While Dream And Do, second to Tropbeau on her last start, is from the family of triple Group One winner Charm Spirit, and German Champion Ransom O’War.
The best pedigrees usually always rise to the top level and give us the best guide to performance. It feels like Christmas Eve, what will St Nick deliver?
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