Second Group One Win For Thunder Snow
The grey colt employed the same front-running tactics to win the National Stakes (Listed, 5f) at the track in May before he performed below expectations when down the field in the Norfolk Stakes (Gr 2, 5f) at Royal Ascot.
He put that disappointment behind last week, breaking quickly from his draw in barrier two, and he was well-rated at the head of affairs by jockey PJ McDonald who still sat motionless as the field approached the final two furlongs.
Once asked to quicken, Havana Grey extended in pleasing fashion to beat the Godolphin-raced favourite Roussel (Kodiac), who finished second in the Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed, 5f) at Royal Ascot, by a length and a quarter with To Wafij (Kodiac) a further neck behind in third place.
The Fozzy Stack-trained Sirici (2 f Choisir – Mironica by Excellent Art) caused an upset when winning the Tipperary Stakes (Listed, 5f) at Tipperary on Thursday evening.
The filly, who returned a 14/1 shot having finished down the field in the Queen Mary Stakes (Gr 2, 5f) at her previous start, beat the odds-on favourite Actress (Declaration Of War) by a neck, with Now You’re Talking (Zoffany) just a short-head further behind in third.
The victory of Sirici also provided Coolmore stallion Choisir with his 83rd individual stakes winner.
At Nottingham on Saturday evening, the promising sprinter Mrs Gallagher (2 f Oasis Dream – A Huge Dream by Refuse To Bend) regained the winning thread after defeat at Royal Ascot.
The William Jarvis-trained filly made an impressive winning debut at Ascot in May but raced on an unfavoured part of the track when 11th in the Queen Mary Stakes as the 10/1 third favourite.
She was quickly away under Martin Lane and made all the running to score a determined victory by a neck over the debutante Princess Keira (Acclamation), with the pair pulling a length and a half clear of Jive Lady (Exceed And Excel) in third.
Three-Year-Olds
The Godolphin-raced Thunder Snow (3 c Helmet – Eastern Joy by Dubai Destination) secured the second Group One race of his career when he landed the Prix Jean Prat (Gr 1, 1600m) at Chantilly on Sunday.
The Saeed Bin Suroor-trained three-year-old, who was most recently seen running third behind Barney Roy (Excelebration) in the St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Royal Ascot, set steady fractions on the front end under Christophe Soumillon.
The Belgian jockey began to steadily increase the tempo on the approach to the final 500 metres and the colt stretched clear in the straight to register a comfortable length and a quarter success over Trais Fluors (Dansili), with the same distance back to Gold Luck (Redoute’s Choice) in third.
Thunder Snow’s other top-level victory came in the Criterium International (Gr 1, 1400m) at Saint-Cloud as a two-year-old, when he beat South Seas (Lope De Vega) by five lengths.
Arrowfield Stud’s Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) sired his fifth stakes winner in Europe on Sunday, when the Nicolas Clement-trained Ibiza (3 f ex Olga Prekrasa by Kingmambo) won the Prix Chloe (Gr 3, 1800m) at Chantilly.
The three-year-old filly, who is a half-sister to last year’s Prix Jean Prat winner Zelzal (Sea The Stars), raced keenly in the early stages under Stephane Pasquier, but the jockey managed to get cover in behind the leaders before delivering his challenge approaching the 300 metres.
She quickened up in pleasing style under pressure and stayed on strongly to lead at the 100 metres, eventually beating Monroe Bay (Makfi) by three quarters of a length with another half a length back to Dallas Affair (Soldier Hollow) in third.
At Sandown on Saturday, the Charles Hills-trained and Shadwell-raced Battaash (3 g Dark Angel – Anna Law by Lawman) made all to win the Coral Charge Stakes (registered as the Sprint Stakes) (Gr 3, 5f) in a course record time.
The three-year-old gelding, who won the Scurry Stakes (Listed, 5f) at Sandown at his last start on 17 June, was bustled up by Dane O’Neill to take the lead early, and he raced keenly in the hands of the veteran jockey.
However, he was still full of running on the approach to the final furlong and shot clear in impressive fashion to beat Mirza (Oasis Dream) by three and a quarter lengths with another three lengths back to dual Group One winner Goldream (Oasis Dream) in third.
Battaash stopped the clock in a rapid 58.57 seconds over the stiff five furlongs at Sandown, and he is now among the favourites for the Nunthorpe Stakes (Gr 1, 5f) at York on 25 August.
Later on the same card, the David Elsworth-trained Tisbutadream (3 f Dream Ahead – Choose Me by Choisir) ran out a game winner of the Coral Distaff (Listed, 1m).
The three-year-old filly set even fractions on the front end under Silvestre De Sousa but looked vulnerable approaching the final furlong as Queen Of Time (Harbour Watch) and Dancing Breeze (New Approach) loomed up to deliver their challenges.
However, De Sousa had rated the pace perfectly and the filly dug in close home to score by half a length, in the process providing Emirates Park shuttler Dream Ahead (Diktat) with his tenth stakes winner.
Older Horses
The Sir Michael Stoute-trained and Niarchos Family-raced Ulysses (4 c Galileo – Light Shift by Kingmambo) held on for a narrow win in a thrilling Coral Eclipse (Gr 1, 1m2f) at Sandown on Saturday.
There was drama in the early stages of the prestigious Group One, which is the first feature race of the British season which pits the three-year-olds against their elders, as the front-running Taj Mahal (Galileo) caused interference to dual Group One winner Decorated Knight (Galileo), who in turn badly hampered the Aidan O’Brien-trained favourite Cliffs Of Moher (Galileo).
All the while, Ulysses was ridden quietly towards the tail of the field by champion jockey Jim Crowley, and the pair cruised into contention on the outside of the field on the approach to the final furlong.
The colt, who is out of the 2007 Oaks (Gr 1, 1m4f) winner Light Shift (Kingmambo), quickened into the lead with around 150 yards to race, but the Group One-winning three-year-old Barney Roy (Excelebration) rallied in the final strides to force a photo finish, with the pair separated by a nose at the line in the £500,000 race.
Outsider Desert Encounter (Halling) ran on strongly to take third, a further three and a half lengths behind, while Cliffs Of Moher could not recover from the early trouble in running and ran on to take fourth.
Ulysses could tackle the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 1m4f) at Ascot on 29 July at his next start.
At Haydock the same afternoon, the John Gosden-trained The Black Princess (4 f Iffraaj – Larceny by Cape Cross) proved too strong for her rivals in the Lancashire Oaks (Gr 2, 1m4f).
The multiple stakes-winning four-year-old was settled towards the tail of the field by jockey Robert Tart, for whom the Lancashire Oaks was the biggest victory of his career, and he sent the daughter of Iffraaj (Zafonic) after the well-backed favourite Abingdon (Street Cry) inside the final two furlongs.
She edged into the lead with 100 yards to race and ran on gamely to win by half a length, with with Ajman Princess (Teofilo) a further length behind in third, and the Yorkshire Oaks (Gr 1, 1m4f) at York in August looks a likely next target for the winner.
The Hughie Morrison-trained stayer Nearly Caught (7 g New Approach – Katch Me Katie by Danehill) gained an overdue success when winning the Coral Marathon (registered as the Esher Stakes) (Listed, 2m) at Sandown on Saturday.
The seven-year-old gelding, who won the Prix Kergorlay (Gr 2, 3000m) and finished third in the Prix du Cadran (Gr 1, 4100m) last season, was ridden patiently by James Doyle in an evenly run contest.
He moved strongly into the lead just over a furlong out and ran on bravely to fend off the Chester Cup (2m2.5f) winner Montaly (Yeats) by three quarters of a length with Alyssa (Sir Percy) a further length behind in third place.