Raven's Pass's Royal Marine Takes the Lagardere

Much of the talk before Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp centred around the home-trained Anodor (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}), but the Freddy Head sensation had to give best behind a Godolphin-Ballydoyle skirmish in which Royal Marine (Ire) (Raven's Pass) prevailed for the boys in blue. Having let the side down on debut, the highly-regarded homebred had provided ample compensation with a dynamic winning performance from the front at Doncaster Sept. 14 which had genuine gravity on the eye and the clock. Tending to over-race initially before settling in the able hands of Oisin Murphy, the 6-1 shot had Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) to lead him with Ryan Moore keen to counter the Rosegreen runner's customary lethargy. Gaining the edge with 300 metres remaining, Royal Marine asserted soon after and may have been tiring late as the margin shrank to a neck. The 4-5 favourite Anodor, who had been described by Freddy Head before the race as the best 2-year-old he had trained, looked content behind the overseas pair throughout but when push came to shove his response was too steady and he was able only to get to within 3/4 of a length of Broome in third. For Saeed bin Suroor, the win represented a watershed moment coming out of a relatively quiet spell. “Last year, I didn't really have the horses, but this year Sheikh Mohammed has sent me some nice horses and they are doing well,” he said. “He's a big strong horse who could be anything and it is exciting for the future. He has talent but also temperamental issues, as he acted up in the stables before the race and it was only when I put the saddle on that he settled. I like the way he moves and he is actually really brilliant. We'll take him to Dubai for the winter and I'll speak to Sheikh Mohammed and we'll make a plan.”

Royal Marine had carried a smart reputation into his six-furlong Newmarket debut Aug. 25, but did his prospects little good by becoming upset in the stalls and could manage just sixth behind TDN Rising Star and subsequent G1 Middle Park S. runner-up Jash (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). A different proposition at Doncaster's St Leger meeting, he was able to beat the subsequent dual winner and TDN Rising Star Turgenev (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and cover the same seven-furlong trip in a faster time than the card's Listed Flying Scotsman S. winner Sangarius (GB) (Kingman {GB}) carrying five pounds more. Oisin Murphy had a relatively straightforward task here and he was impressed. “He's a very good horse, low on experience but with plenty of ability,” he said. “They went slow and we got racing early. I was wary not to get to Ryan too soon, as Royal Marine has a lot of pace but I got away with it. I think he is a miler.”

Aidan O'Brien will surely be thinking of Derbys with Broome and he said of the runner-up, “He's finished for the year, but he's a horse that I'm really looking forward to. He ran very well even though he is immature. We could direct him towards the Classic path. We are very happy with the start of the progeny of Australia and looking forward to see what the years to come will bring. Broome has a superb action and had plenty of gas to finish his race.” Freddy Head was taking positives from the display of Anodor and said, “When the others accelerated, he had a hard time following them but he stayed on and finished well. I was happy with the end of the race and he finished with plenty of resources. He is still an unexposed horse, he needs to mature and he hasn't finished his growth quite yet. He hasn't had to fight like this before and he will surely progress with time. We will see him next year, certainly over a mile to start with, but there are no reasons why he couldn't stay further after.”

A half-brother to the useful miler Secret Ambition (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), the listed winner Crystal River (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) who stayed slightly further, and the latter's dual-winning 3-year-old 10-furlong handicapper Midnight Meeting (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Royal Marine may ultimately prove most effective in the Classics staged over a mile and that was the instant impression of his jockey here. Even the dam Inner Secret (Singspiel {Ire}) is a half to bin Suroor's high-class group 1-winning milers Librettist (Danzig) and Dubai Destination (Kingmambo). If there is hope that Royal Marine could stay the Derby trip and emulate last year's third in this Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), it comes in Inner Secret's half-brother Secret Number (GB) also by Raven's Pass. He was still performing with real credit at the age of seven and stayed 12 furlongs strongly as he proved when annexing the 2013 G3 Cumberland Lodge S. and last year's G2 International Bosphorus Cup while he also finished second over an extra furlong in the G3 Queen's Cup. The third dam is the G3 Musidora S. third Mysteries (Seattle Slew), whose progeny list is headed by the G1 July Cup and G1 Prix de l'Abbaye sprinting hero and leading Japanese sire Agnes World (Danzig). Inner Secret's yearling colt is by Dark Angel (Ire), while she also has a colt foal by Dawn Approach (Ire).

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX JEAN-LUC LAGARDERE – GRAND CRITERIUM (SPONSORISE PAR MANATEQ)-G1, €400,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-7, 2yo, c/f, 8fT, 1:39.10, gd.
1–ROYAL MARINE (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Raven's Pass
1st Dam: Inner Secret, by Singspiel (Ire)
2nd Dam: Mysterial, by Alleged
3rd Dam: Mysteries, by Seattle Slew
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Saeed bin Suroor; J-Oisin Murphy. €228,560. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, €239,498. *1/2 to Crystal River (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), SW-Fr; and Secret Ambition (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), GSP-UAE, $224,564. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Broome (Ire), 126, c, 2, Australia (GB)–Sweepstake (Ire), by Acclamation (GB). (€120,000 RNA Ylg '17 GOFOR; 150,000gns Ylg '17 TATDEY). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Epona Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €91,440.
3–Anodor (Fr), 126, c, 2, Anodin (Ire)–Decize (Fr), by Kentucky Dynamite. (€32,000 RNA Ylg '17 ARAUG). O-Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard & Mme Frederic Head; B-I D Fair (FR); T-Freddy Head. €45,720.
Margins: NK, 3/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 5.80, 5.90, 0.80.
Also Ran: Boitron (Fr), Shaman (Ire), Dark Jedi (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.