Siyouni’s Laurens captures the Prix de Diane
Winner by a neck was British-trained, French-bred Laurens (Siyouni) who had taken the lead about 400 metres out then defied her rivals to defeat Godolphin’s strong finishing Musis Amica (Dawn Approach) who was only a nose in front of third placed Homerique (Exchange Rate). Close-up in fourth place was Coolmore-raced Happily (Galileo).
Trained by Karl Burke and ridden by former jumps jockey P.J. McDonald, Laurens has been a model of consistency since her two-year-old days, never winning by decisive margins but the Prix de Diane was her third success at Group One level, which includes her win in the Prix Saint- Alary (Gr 1, 2000m) earlier this season, while as a juvenile she won the Fillies’ Mile (Gr 1, 1m) in Britain. She was also runner-up to Billesdon Brook (Champs Elysees) in the 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) at Newmarket.
Another feature win for her as a juvenile was in the May Hill Stakes (Gr 2, 1m) at Doncaster and this big, strong, imposing filly has proved a very profitable buy for her owner, John Dance, who paid a high price for her as a yearling but now has a wonderful foundation mare for the stud he has purchased in Buckinghamshire.
Likely to have her next start in the Yorkshire Oaks (Gr 1, 1m4f), Laurens is one of 23 stakes winners and the second Group One winner for her outstanding young sire Siyouni (Pivotal), a home bred for the Aga Khan and a resident sire at his Haras de Bonneval in France where he will cover mares to Southern Hemisphere time later this year.
Siyouni should attract his share of bookings not only due to his deeds in Europe but also after Australian breeders were alerted to his qualities when Australia-foaled juvenile Aylmerton won the ATC Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) leading up to the 2018 Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
Laurens comes from Siyouni’s fourth crop while his first Group One winner, the filly Ervedya, came from his first crop to put him firmly on the map as a leading young European sire after a brilliant two-year-old campaign followed by a trio of Group One victories at three years in the 2015 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr 1, 1600m) the Coronation Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Royal Ascot and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (Gr 1, 1600m).
Currently the leading sire in France by 2018 earnings, Siyouni was among the best two-year-olds to race in Europe in the 2009 season, his major success coming in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Gr 1, 1400m). After proving a little disappointing at three years, Siyouni retired to stud in 2011 at the bargain fee of €7,000, a fee which has now increased by more than tenfold.
Siyouni’s best winners to date are mainly, like Laurens, from mares of modest racing performance so it will be interesting to see his results after the quality of his mates improved sharply after his early crops convinced breeders he was capable of leaving winners of the highest class.
In this respect, Siyouni’s stud career is following much the same path as that of his sire Pivotal (Polar Falcon) who had to fight for recognition in the early years of what has proved an outstanding, all round contribution to international racing and breeding.
Siyouni, though, has the extra benefit of being out of a daughter of Danehill (Danzig) and also has a dash of Mr. Prospector (Raise a Native) blood through his second dam.
While Laurens’ dam Recambe (Cape Cross) was only a modest winner in France over a distance and her earlier foals were not of much account, Recambe is rich in pedigree as her half-brother Salford Mill (Peintre Celebre) is a Hong Kong Derby (Gr 1, 2000m) winner and a winner of other black type races in Hong Kong and Britain.
Razana (Kahyasi), the second dam of Laurens, won four races, was stakes placed in France and is a half-sister to Italian stakes winner Raysiza (Alzao), dam of Ryan (Generous), a champion in the Slovak Republic.
This is a long established stamina family developed in the Boussac and then the Aga Khan’s studs with Rose Ness (Charlottesville), the sixth dam of Laurens, a half-sister to Marcel Boussac’s 1969 Prix de Diane winner Crepellana (Crepello) and noted as the fourth dam of the stallions Daylami (Doyoun) and Dalakhani (Darshaan).
Dominant feature of the pedigree chart of Laurens is her 4m x 4m double of Danzig (Northern Dancer) via his famous sons Danehill and Green Desert, now often found in combination in the backgrounds of major winners.Further back are two more lines of Northern Dancer (Nearctic) through other prominent sons Nureyev and Nijinsky giving Larens a powerful and extremely well balanced pedigree.