French Endeavour (AUS)
2 f Rubick – French News by Anabaa
O: Hobartville Stud Pty Ltd
B: Hobartville Stud
T: Matthew Smith
W: Furphy Maiden Plate, 1100m, July 19, Warwick Farm
A move to stakes company this spring looks to be on the cards for juvenile filly French Endeavour (Rubick) after she broke her maiden at the second attempt with a strong performance in an 1100-metre maiden at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
Having produced a promising debut effort when finishing runner-up behind subsequent Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) placegetter Bases Loaded (Deep Field) at Randwick-Kensington in February, the daughter of Rubick (Encosta De Lago) had no problem going one better here.
Ridden by apprentice jockey Dylan Gibbons, French Endeavour loomed up on the outside of the long-time leader Love And Light (Capitalist) rounding the home turn and, after a sustained battle down the straight, went on to score by three-quarters of a length over the daughter of Capitalist (Written Tycoon).
“She’s a little ripper,” Gibbons said. “We copped a bit of a bump coming out of the gates, and I was worried about getting too far back, but when I got into the one-one, I was very confident.
“Gai’s [Waterhouse, Love And Light] are very hard to catch, but my filly dug deep, and it was a dominant win in the end.
“She is still a bit hairy and not fully furnished, but what she has done early in her career is exciting, with a lot of improvement to come.”
A homebred for Grahame Mapp’s Hobartville Stud, French Endeavour is the third winner from five to race out of the Anabaa (Danzig) mare French News, herself a half-sister to Breaking News (Brief Truce), whose five career stakes wins included the W J Healy Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m).
From a famous Hobartville Stud family, French Endeavour’s great granddam is Light Of Peace (Light Wind), the dam of Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Star Watch (Bletchingly), Listed winner Apollo’s Flame (King Apollo) and Group 2 runner-up Clear Apollo (King Apollo). French News was covered by Sheer Talent (Redoute’s Choice) last spring.