Look De Vega (Fr)
This year's Prix du Jockey Club winner Look de Vega (Fr) will join his sire Lope de Vega (Ire) on the stallion roster at Ballylinch Stud next season, the operation announced on Monday. He has been introduced at a fee of €20,000. Look de Vega was bred by Joelle Mestrallet of Haras De La Morsangliere and Lucien Urano of Ecurie des Charmes, who raced him in partnership with his trainers Carlos and Yann Lerner, as well as Patrick Madar, before it was announced in July that Ballylinch--in association with Al...
There was a time when projecting the winner of the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was simple. Just look for the Andre Fabre-trained colt perfectly tuned for the ParisLongchamp monument and voila. Times change, of course, and the master of Chantilly no longer enjoys the same dominion over the great race he conquered on five occasions between his inaugural victory with Trempolino in 1987 and Sagamix (Fr) in 1998. Just a trio have managed to extend that tally subsequently, which interestingly features only two older horses. This year,...
A field of 16 will take part in Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp, with Aidan O'Brien responsible for the only withdrawals on Thursday morning with the expected easy ground unsuitable for Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). That leaves the G1 Irish Derby hero Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) to represent Ballydoyle with the Wertheimers' G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Sosie (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) currently shading favouritism for an open renewal...
Following Monday's confirmation stage, 18 horses remain in contention for Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, including the three-year-old Sosie (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who has topped the ante-post betting since registering his second consecutive victory over the course and distance in the G2 Prix Niel. He also won the G1 Grand Prix de Paris on his previous start. Sosie is one of three potential runners for Andre Fabre, who will be seeking a record-extending ninth win in the Arc. Fabre is also set to...
All eyes were on the returning G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero Look De Vega (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in Sunday's G2 Qatar Prix Niel at ParisLongchamp, but while he appeared to run out of stamina the Wertheimers' Sosie (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}--Sosia {Ger}, by Shamardal) proved that is his strong suit to book his Arc ticket. Rested since his G1 Grand Prix de Paris success over this course and mile-and-a-half trip, the Andre Fabre-trained homebred shadowed that Classic-winning peer throughout the early stages with Ronan Thomas happy...
Sunday's field have now been set, with the group 1 races at The Curragh and ParisLongchamp hosting some major names including Ballydoyle's elite-level winners Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Opera Singer (Justify). The former bids for a second G1 Irish St Leger during the second day of the Irish Champions Festival in Kildare, while the latter is one of a dozen fillies set to contest the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille which is the feature of the French Arc Trials card. Kyprios will face seven in the 14-furlong contest, including Scuderia...
Thursday also saw the draw made for Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly, with Jeff Smith's G1 2,000 Guineas fourth Ghostwriter (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) getting an inside post in two. In between the two ParisLongchamp conditions winners Sosie (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Look De Vega (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), the Clive Cox-trained G2 Royal Lodge S. scorer will at least have a tactical advantage in the 10 1/2-furlong Classic, with his trainer saying earlier this week, "He is very versatile and very balanced,...