By Tom Frary
Having played bridesmaid in last year's Qatar Prix Vermeille and in the Arc, the Wertheimers' Aventure (Sea The Stars) put matters right in the first of those this time around without any degree of difficulty to earn a merited initial Group 1 victory. So easily was the homebred able to brush aside the Prix de Diane heroine Gezora (Almanzor) under a confident Maxime Guyon on Sunday, the prospect of her going one better in next month's showcase is now distinctively brighter.
“She won very well and accelerated really well,” trainer Christophe Ferland said of the four-year-old, who was officially the 1 1/2-length winner as the 1-2 favourite Whirl (Wootton Bassett) faded tamely to be last in the mile-and-a-half test. “My mission was to win a Group 1 with her and it's done, but she will be better in four weeks' time.”
Unlucky to come across Bluestocking twice last autumn, TDN Rising Star Aventure had come back to take the Allez France and Corrida without stress before running into another heavyweight in Calandagan in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Handed time to refresh after that encounter, she looked a filly thriving here as she stamped her authority on this year's Classic generation.
Her winning time was a second slower than Byzantine Dream's earlier on the card, but she was close to the Japanese runner's closing three-furlong sectional and able to put in a penultimate 10.59 which eclipsed anything achieved by all other runners in the card's Group races.
“I think she wasn't at her best in June and she's better at this time of year,” Ferland added. “It's good ground today, but if it's heavy next month then she will go on that as well. She's a perfect filly to train with such a nice attitude. “I was tense beforehand, because I wanted everything to go well but I can now approach the Arc with more serenity. That said, it's going to be a long four weeks!”
The Wertheimers' racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau said, “She had long deserved her Group 1, but these are always very tough races to win and while the field was small, it was a quality one. It's a real relief–it's wonderful and she did it fairly easily. We know Aventure is not at all inconvenienced by softer ground, which could be important in four weeks' time.”
Interestingly, Gezora's closing three-furlong split was identical to Byzantine Dream's, while the third Bedtime Story (Frankel (GB) dipped under that with an impressive 33.07, so there is food for thought ahead of the Arc. Gezora may not have been able to add to Francis Graffard's Group 1 tally, but he was taking many positives from her run. “That was a very good performance from her on her return. She was beaten by a very good filly and finished strongly,” he said.
“The pace slowed down significantly at one stage, but Gezora is very straightforward and clearly stays the mile and a half. We'll see with the owners, but she'll be out again in four weeks, either in the Prix de l'Opera or in the Arc. Personally, I would prefer the Arc. It will be quite an open race and she's the Prix de Diane winner–we have nothing to lose!”
Wayne Lordan said of Bedtime Story, “I'm very pleased, as she settled well. It was her first try over a mile and a half and I thought she finished strongly. She can sometimes pull, so I made her relax and during the race she was a bit flat, but then suddenly she picked up. She ran a very good race and I think her form ties in with that of the French filly who finished second.”
AVENTURE BLOWS HER RIVALS AWAY IN THE GROUP ONE PRIX VERMEILLE! 🏆🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/cEmEnN2hgr
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 7, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Aventure's is a family that continues to write new chapters. A half to the 2016 Vermeille heroine Left Hand (Dubawi), she is also kin to the Listed scorer Blissie (Dansili) who is in turn the dam of the recent G3
Prix Gontaut-Biron winner First Look (Lope De Vega) who was runner-up in last year's Prix du Jockey Club. She is also a half to Lope De Vega's Right Hand who produced Dubawi's Audubon Park, another smart prospect for this yard who took this term's Listed Prix Rose de Mai and was second in the G2 Prix Saint Alary.
The dam is the G2 Prix de Royallieu winner Balladeuse (Singspiel), a half to the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Plumania (Anabaa) who in turn produced four Stakes performers including another smart Dubawi in the G2 Prix du Muguet victor Plumatic. Also connected to the dual G1 Prix Royal-Oak hero Double Major (Daiwa Major) and the 1988 Vermeille-winning champion Indian Rose, Balladeuse has an unraced three-year-old full-brother to Aventure named Astropark.
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX VERMEILLE-G1, €600,000, ParisLongchamp, 9-7, 3yo/up, f/m, 12fT, 2:29.34, g/s.
1–AVENTURE (IRE), 130, f, 4, by Sea The Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Balladeuse (Fr) (GSW-Fr, $168,432), by Singspiel (Ire)
2nd Dam: Featherquest (GB), by Rainbow Quest
3rd Dam: Featherhill (Fr), by Lyphard
TDN Rising Star. 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere; T-Christophe Ferland; J-Maxime Guyon. €342,840. Lifetime Record: 12-6-5-0, €2,051,740. *1/2 to Left Hand (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), G1SW-Fr, $695,171; Romanciere (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), G1SP-Fr, $135,553; and Bilissie (GB) (Dansili {GB}), SW-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Gezora (Fr), 122, f, 3, Almanzor (Fr)–Germance, by Silver Hawk. O-White Birch Farm; B-Haras d'Etreham; T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €137,160.
3–Bedtime Story (Ire), 122, f, 3, Frankel (GB)–Mecca's Angel (Ire), by Dark Angel (Ire). TDN Rising Star. O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore; T-Aidan O'Brien. €68,580.
Margins: 1HF, 1 1/4, NO. Odds: 2.90, 6.40, 16.00.
Also Ran: Survie (Ire), Ginalyah (Ire), Whirl (Ire).
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
