Come Deauville August, Freddy Head always has his runners at a peak and it was the Wertheimers' Polydream (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) who was spinning the magic in Sunday's G1 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest. Following the previous Sunday's G1 Prix Rothschild victory of stablemate With You (GB) (Dansili {GB}), she managed to overhaul one of the strongest fields assembled for this unique sprint in many years and continue the yard's 100 per-cent record in the meeting's premier races.
Starting as the short-priced favourite for the Marcel Boussac after her ready defeat of Laurens by 1 3/4 lengths in the seven-furlong Calvados, Polydream was unable to get to Wild Illusion (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) but this week's action at Goodwood put that performance in a different light. Whether the mile on soft ground at Chantilly was too much of a test of her stamina remains unknown.
Tracking the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. runner-up City Light (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) as they settled off the pace carved out by Fleet Review (War Front) and Larchmont Lad (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), Polydream was left over two lengths adrift of the G2 Mill Reef S. and G3 Greenham S. winner James Garfield who had led overall towing two rivals to her right.
“I had no other choice than to run her first time up in the Pouliches, but she lacked real training at that stage and she also didn't have the best of runs in the race,” Head continued. “Since then she had improved a lot and won brilliantly the other day.
Frankie Dettori said of James Garfield, who was staging a return to his prior highs in first-time headgear, “He ran a huge race and the blinkers sharpened him up big time. He gave me everything and the last half furlong my run came to an end and she got me. He went off the boil a bit at Royal Ascot, but was back to his best here.”
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