Delacour-Lael Team Flying High With Hawksmoor

Trainer Arnaud Delacour has quickly and quietly ascended to being one of the most universally respected horsemen in America. Since going out on his own in 2011, the seven-year assistant to Christophe Clement–and two-year to Alain de Royer-Dupré in France before that–has shown marked skill with a variety of equine designs, from recently retired multiple Grade I-winning older sprinter A. P. Indian (Indian Charlie) to Grade III winner, GI Preakness S. third and GI Cigar Mile H. runner-up Divining Rod (Tapit) and six-time turf stakes-winning mare Ageless (Successful Appeal). Perhaps even more impressive for the Fair Hill Training Center-based conditioner is his nearly 23% career strike rate and 10 graded victories in the last three years, all while remaining one of the most approachable and courteous people on the racetrack.

The 42-year-old native of the Lisieux, Normandy, France, may be well on his way to increasing that number when he ships his latest stable star Hawksmoor (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}) to Arlington's International Festival of Racing Aug. 12 for its prestigious $600,000 GI Beverly D. S.–a Breeders' Cup Challenge Win & You're In event for the GI Filly & Mare Turf. One of 70 in a barn that is split between Fair Hill and close-by Delaware Park, Hawksmoor is yet another in a string of top stakes horses to surface from the fruitful relationship of Delacour and 2006 Eclipse Award-winning owner Lael Stables of Roy and Gretchen Jackson.

Lael Stables has had its fair share of ups and downs in racing, needless to say. From the greatness and sadness surrounding its fallen star Barbaro (Dynaformer), to celebrating top-notch Grade I winners Showing Up (Strategic Maneuver), Check the Label (Stormin Fever) and Precious Kitten (Kitten's Joy), the Jackson operation has felt the brunt and embrace of an often mercurial industry. In Delacour, though, Lael appears to have found its center and the result has been a series of top performers, including aforementioned Divining Rod and Ageless.

“We got to know Arnaud through our association with Christophe [Clement] and we really respect him,” Gretchen Jackson said. “When he went on his own and moved to Fair Hill, we sent a couple to him and he did really well with them. Everything he does is really well done and he's a great horseman with common sense who explains everything so well to an owner. He educates us without making us feel stupid and that's a great gift for a trainer to have. He plans ahead and knows the racetracks and includes us in his decisions, while explaining why he makes them. We couldn't be happier and now we have all of our American-trained horses except for one with him–roughly 16.”

The odd mare out is multiple graded stakes winner Rainha Da Bateria (Broken Vow), who is with trainer Chad Brown. Like Hawksmoor, she was a summer 2016 private purchase by Lael in an attempt to reinforce its broodmare band, which currently includes such stars as Ageless, Pussycat Doll (Real Quiet), Emotional Kitten (Kitten's Joy), Valbenny (Ire) (Val Royal {Fr}) and My Princess Jess (Stormy Atlantic). Rainha Da Bateria will also start in the Beverly D.

“You never like to race them against each other, but it was the best race for each filly and we are really excited to get back to Arlington,” Jackson continued. “A decade ago, we went to Arlington during what was a very tough year with Barbaro and Showing Up won the [GI] Secretariat. He was a surprise gift to pick up our spirits during a very troubled time.

“Rainha has been so close before, so we would like to get a Grade I win with her. Who knows if another year of training and racing is her cup of tea. If not, we'll retire her. Roy and I really like racing, even more than the breeding, so we always try to race if we can,” she continued. “Hawksmoor is just doing so well and Arnaud knows her so much better now and you can see it in her races. We bought her and a few days later she won the [GII] German 1000 Guineas. She was with Hugo Palmer at the time and we bought her and (Group I Investec Oaks runner-up) Architecture (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). Hugo did well with both fillies and decided to send Hawksmoor to the [GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup] at Keeneland [Oct. 15] and she ran a big race [to finish third by a head]. We then wanted to keep her here and sent her to Arnaud and he's done a beautiful job.”

Aside from a hiccup in her first try for Delacour, finishing sixth as the favorite in the GII Mrs. Revere S. at Churchill Downs to close out her sophomore campaign, Hawksmoor has been flawless while displaying the class that made her a multiple Group I-placed filly in Europe. Kicking off her first full U. S. campaign in style, she out-gamed Grade I winners Dacita (Scat Daddy) and Time and Motion (Tapit) in Belmont's GIII Beaugay S. in gate-to-wire fashion. She then stretched out to 10 furlongs with finesse when beating next-out GI Diana S. runner-up Quidura (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the GII New York S. June 9. Julien Leparoux, aboard for both of her 2017 victories, is slated to ride once again in Chicago.

“The plan is the Beverly D. and she is doing very well right now,” Delacour said. “She got sick two weeks after the New York, so we took our time with her. She was aiming to the Diana, but we let her get better and she came back breezing quite well last week. It was bad timing for the Diana, but could be very good timing for the Beverly D.

“She's a tough filly who likes to race and fight and I've been very impressed with her in the morning,” he continued. “She's versatile and has tactical speed that can run a mile or stretch out to a mile and a quarter. She's the perfect filly for America because she can get position, relax and keep going. She also has a great personality and loves to do her job.”

Hawksmoor breezed five furlongs at Fair Hill in 1:01.20 July 29, the second-best of 18 moves at the distance. She is to have another breeze at said Maryland training facility–30 minutes south of the Jacksons' West Grove, PA, home–on Aug. 5 before shipping to Arlington. If victorious, it would be the first Grade I victory in tandem for the formidable Delacour-Lael team that has had multiple top-level close calls, including a heartbreaking head loss by Divining Rod in last fall's Grade I Cigar Mile H. Divining Rod, coincidentally, is approaching his comeback and has been training extremely well–including two five-furlong bullet moves during the month of July–at Fair Hill, while his juvenile full-sister Jehozacat (Tapit) debuted in sparkling fashion July 30 at Laurel.

“I'm very thankful for horses like Hawksmoor and the opportunities like this,” Delacour concluded. “To train for people like the Jacksons is a delight. They really like to race and that is very important and makes my job easier. It's always difficult when you go off on your own and try to build your operation, but we have been lucky enough to attract such great people. Hopefully we can keep doing well.”