Duke of Marmalade’s Simple Verse Garners Fillies & Mares Glory

SIMPLE PLEASURE
Using all of the stamina that saw her prevail in the controversial and much-publicized G1 St Leger at Doncaster Sept. 12, Qatar Racing’s Simple Verse (Ire) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) got up late to continue her upward trajectory in Saturday’s G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot. Sent forward by Andrea Atzeni after failing to find cover from her wide draw, the 5-1 shot was temporarily left behind as Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) cut loose under Frankie Dettori with a quarter mile remaining but steadily ground her down to gain the advantage in the last 75 yards and assert for a 3/4-of-a-length success. “She’s very good and stays well, so I was confident I would pick Frankie up,” commented Atzeni, who will end his retainer at the season’s close. “Today was very straightforward–I had a nice posse and they went a good gallop. To win a Group 1 today for Sheikh Fahad and his brothers is amazing, as he’s been a great boss for me this year.”

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS FILLIES & MARES S.-G1, £578,130, ASC, 10-17, 3yo/up, f, 12fT, 2:32.01, g/s.
1–SIMPLE VERSE (IRE), 124, f, 3, by Duke of Marmalade (Ire)
1st Dam: Guantanamera (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells
2nd Dam: Bluffing (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
3rd Dam: Instinctive Move, by Nijinsky II
(€240,000 Ylg ‘13 GOFORB). O-QRL/Sheikh Suhaim Al Thani/M Al Kubaisi; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Ralph Beckett; J-Andrea Atzeni. £327,858. Lifetime Record: 8-5-1-1, $1,233,257. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Journey (GB), 124, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Montare (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire). O/B-George Strawbridge (GB); T-John Gosden. £124,298.
3–Beautiful Romance (GB), 124, f, 3, New Approach (Ire)–Mazuna (Ire), by Cape Cross (Ire). O-Godolphin; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-Saeed bin Suroor. £62,207.
Margins: 3/4, 2, NK. Odds: 5.00, 7.00, 20.00.
Also Ran: Covert Love (Ire), Bocca Baciata (Ire), Arabian Queen (Ire), Sea Calisi (Fr), Tapestry (Ire), Speedy Boarding (GB), Madame Chiang (GB), Candarliya (Fr), Lady Tiana (GB). Click for the Racing Post result, the brisnet.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

With just one win in her first four starts, there was little to recommend Simple Verse as a potential dual Group 1 winner and that was still the case after her short-head defeat of the subsequent Melrose H. winner Polarisation (GB) (Echo of Light {Ire}) when rated 82 by the BHA on her fifth outing in a 12-furlong handicap at Salisbury June 24. Next up, the bay was asked a big question by Ralph Beckett when taking in the G3 Lillie Langtry S. over 14 furlongs at Glorious Goodwood July 30 and answered by registering a clear-cut first black-type win and that would have been sufficient improvement for any 3-year-old filly to make in a single season. Described as a “slow-burner” and an “old-fashioned type” who “you could see jumping a hurdle” after that breakthrough by her trainer, Simple Verse’s subsequent homework suggested that she had the right to be supplemented into a weak edition of the Leger particularly in a year when the fillies were proving up there with the colts. Her encounter with Bondi Beach (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the oldest Classic is now the stuff of folklore and with the ceiling on her improvement impossible to measure connections duly took up this new challenge with enthusiasm. Soon in third with Andrea Atzeni keen to avoid a tactical mistake from her wide post position, she tracked Journey just ahead as Arabian Queen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) set demanding fractions. For much of the last quarter mile, it appeared that Journey would provide the all-powerful Gosden stable with another feature success, but Simple Verse kept finding for pressure as she had at Doncaster and her superior strength ultimately prevailed. “It just panned out as we hoped, but I’m not sure this place really suits her with the straight being too short for her,” Beckett said. “She likes a scrap and it always looked like she would run the second down. I thought at the time she was given a great ride to beat Polarisation at Salisbury, but she ran a great figure that day according to the time men and has just kept getting better and better.” Sheikh Fahad added, “This is the best day’s racing ever and it means a lot to us, having a winner on Champions Day. It’s been five years, but we got here. She’ll stay in training and will be in all the top mile-and-a-half races. She might even be a King George filly, hopefully.” Journey’s trainer John Gosden commented, “She ran a great race and we’re thrilled with her. She’s been beaten by a St Leger winner and there’s nothing wrong with that, it was her stamina that came into play. She’s not a Group winner, so she will stay in training next year.” John Ferguson said of Beautiful Romance (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), who put up a career-best performance when two lengths away in third, “She’s been a work in progress and Saeed [bin Suroor] has done a beautiful job training her, as she’s not been the easiest.” Hugo Palmer said of the 4-1 favorite Covert Love (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), who ran her usual game race in fourth, “It was the ground, it’s dead, gluey jumping ground. She ran an enormous race and it was only her class that saw her through. Any lesser filly would have finished out the back. She was a class filly going into the race and she has done well to be beaten only two and a half lengths on ground she loathed. She deserves a well-earned break and the world will be her oyster next year.”