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onthebridle · 4 years

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2020 Poule d’Essai Des Poulains Preview

It’s been a while. A long while. But we are back and giving it another go!

A tumultuous year off the piste has gifted us a titanic tussle on it. When all was rosy in the Racing garden, the French Government scythed down the ParisLongchamp plan for the Poulains. Fear not as the affable, enigmatic and folically gifted Olivier Delloye cleared the table and pivoted to a charming corner of Normandy!

A straight mile for a Guineas? Wonderful idea! No UK or Irish based horses? Wonderful-(ish) idea! Not that they’ve won many recently anyway. No crowd? Well that’s pretty grim but rules are rules.

Onto the runners!

VICTOR LUDORUM

Shamardal this, Shamardal that. Shamardal for you and Shamardal for you too! Victor Ludorum (a Shamardal colt) was an immovable object from the Winners Enclosure throughout his 2yo career. ParisLongchamp was his particular playground of choice, breaking his maiden there by 3.5L (that could have been a lot more) and having his finest hour in the G1 Jean Luc Lagardere beating Group winners Alson, Armory and Ecrivain of whom we will encounter next.

Posters were up, the word was out. Victor was back. May 11th, ParisLonghcamp - tune your TV and watch the Prince on his pathway to his crowning.

Drawn on the Phillipe Chatrier court at Roland Garros and given his relaxed style of exiting the stalls it was not a shock to see him mid division and holding his own just off The Summit. The shock however came at the long sweeping bend at ~600-800m. Victor pulled the arms out of Mickael Barzalona’s sockets. Previously keen at this point in the Lagardere it was much more pronounced but he settled somewhat entering the straight. It would have been quite the effort to peg back The Summit who had set off with a wet sail and he was nursed home by Barza for 3rd. The crowning has been furloughed.

Undoubtedly below his best and suffering from ‘Fabre-itis’ that punished the Petit General’s yard in the opening week, an upgrade will almost be demanded from him and an upgrade he will likely give us. Barza was quoted as saying, “I’m not worried about what happens next” - so why should we be?!

ECRIVAIN

We’re blessed with 5 senses; sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. The brothers Wertheimer know a few of these closely, nay, intimately and on a grander scale than most can imagine. Smell, the fine scent of their grandfathers Chanel No5. Taste, the vintage rouge of their Margaux & Saint-Emilion vineyards. Touch, their (ahem) tasteful swimwear and lingerie collection. Sight, the hands ticking on their Bell & Ross chronometers. The remaining sense is hearing. Hearing their name announced as the winner of the Poulains has been absent since Falco in 2008. A period too long for winners like the Wertheimers. Entraineur Carlos Laffon-Parias knows all of this well. Victory in 2008 belonged to him also. Much like their Margaux, it was a vintage year for the Poulains. Rio De La Plata simply could not get near him.

Ecrivain is his latest project. 2/2 to start his career, including a G3 on just his second run, he finished 4th in the Lagardere whilst both catching the eye and frustrating his patrons at the same time. For his comeback in the Fontainebleau, look to the previous sentence and multiply. Simon Rowlands’ Sectionals show he should have finished closer and he probably would have had he not taken the sceneic route through the Bois Du Boulogne. It was one you sensed that Maxime Guyon would want back.

He isn’t shy to the front of the field, often sitting in the passenger seat beside the pack driver so look for him to be on the scene again at Deauville. The orders from CLP were to “Wait, Finish and Not Hit” - one would imagine Max will hear different ones next time.

THE SUMMIT

Expecting Alson? Sorry not sorry.

Henri Alex Pantall trains the son of Wootton Bassett for Jacques Cygler at his staggeringly beautiful yard in Beaupreau around 400km west of Chantilly. The name Jacques Cygler may be memorable to you thanks to his wondermare export Sistercharlie.

The Summit does not have the sexy row of 1′s you get visiting the Victor Ludorum page or the 100,000€ fee you have to pay for a dance with Lope De Vega to produce Ecrivain but he has run, and run, and run. Up and down the distance ladder from 1300m to 1800m and another rung up to 2000m it seems the Cygler/Pantall equipe decided that the perfect spot is 1600m.

A win on his debut over the distance at Lyon Parilly and a second in a true slug fest at Saint-Cloud on poor ground he would never die wondering. Flash out the gate and prominent throughout is the method to which he lives by. This would prove to be a perfect tactic when teamed up with crack rider PC Boudot in the Fontainebleau. Yep you guessed it, the gates were open and he was gone. Out and away he played the field in a way Ivan Hajek would have been impressed with. Relaxed around the bends when others floundered, nose forward and ears back he sauntered to the 400m pole and found himself a length clear. That length then became three at the 200m pole and PC gave him a polite tap whilst observing those behind before giving it the full betting shop punter fist pump.

Pantall made it known he had grown and “thickened” over the winter. Another duet with PC Boudot has not materialised unfortunately but fear not, Olivier Peslier has been legged up and he isn’t shy of the Winners Enclosure. A victory here would complete the Poulains/Pouliches set for Alex Pantall and in consecutive years too. A summit thoroughly achievable.

THE OTHERS

Contenders, are you rrrrready?!

Alson - The first of Andre Fabre’s two other contestants, he was 2nd in the Lagardere sandwich under Frankie Dettori before going on to on to win a farce of a G1 Criterium International at ParisLongchamp beating Armory. This will be his first run under the Masters tutelage but without a prep run and the original aim of Newmarket, could this be a stepping stone to something like the St James’s Palace Stakes at the (not so Royal) Royal Ascot? Hard to trust.

Arapaho - It wouldn’t be a Classic without the navy of Mrs Sue Magnier now would it?! Andre Fabre’s third dart at the board was given a slight headache over 1400m by Mageva but he was plenty worth his win and has one of the most wonderful actions. Untested at the distance and uncertainty around his rider makes me uneasy on his chances. It would be a special day for his breeder; Mme Elisabeth Fabre. The choice of PCB, the interest has already rocketed and his price shortened.

Celestin - Twice a winner for Fabrice Chappet including a romp of a Listed win at Toulouse on foul ground he was competent in his return at Chantilly behind Reshabar for the local owner/breeders Normandie Pur Sang. It would be the sweetest of wins for them but a shock result.

Kenway - An admirable foe if ever there was one. Frederic Rossi’s charge has put his gloves on, mouthguard in and gone through the ropes with all of the big hitters listed above. A particular distaste for The Summit would be permitted given his 5th in the Saint-Cloud slugfest and the 4th in the Prix Fontainebleau. You won’t miss him - coming late with his head in the air and thick milky noseband pressing through. A place option at best.

Reshabar - Far from a penalty kick for Markus Munch it would symbolise a rapid rise for the son of Ifraaj who defied 59/1 odds to break his maiden in a Class 1 race at Chantilly. On the day he was quite brilliant from the front but the same strategy this time will undoubtedly come with company. Field’s rag.

Shinning Ocean (Supp) - The Prix D’Escoville winner was parachuted into the race by owner/breeders Normandie Pur Sang for a tidy sum. His performance at ParisLongchamp was a mirror to The Summit with Soumillon tugging the field along at a sedate pace initially. Coming down the hill at ~650m, the Belgian decided to find 3rd gear to go a length clear. The revs at 1000m had subsided again and the paced dropped as he was joined by Warzuzu. A slap round the chops at 1200m and he was gone. Two became four and peaked at five lengths clear before the cigar and slippers were out. Soumi is back for more and he has a score to settle with Ecrivain and is a very interesting runner for Christophe Ferland who is chasing his first Poulains!

THE VERDICT

Point 1: Pace will not be an issue. The Summit, Reshabar and Shinning Ocean aren’t ones for hanging around. Mix in the potential pacemaker angle of Alson and it’s a bit of a free for all that could get out of hand. In the passenger seat you’ll have Victor and Ecrivain with possibly The Summit joining them too should the pace dial needle push towards breakneck.

Point 2: Draw. Draw. Draw. The previous Poulains run at Deauville saw Brametot win from Stall 3 and The Gurkha from Stall 11. Helpful. Given the reduced number of horses we could see them all go to the middle or to the stand side rail or split into two groups. Given the temper of some runners and a wide track at Deauville you don’t want to be drawn next a basketcase but you wouldn’t mind a bit of pace either.

Point 3: Jockeys. Victor - check. Ecrivain - check. Kenway - check. Reshabar - check. The surprise came when Pierre Charles chose Arapaho over his Prix Fontainbleau companion The Summit who will now have the ever consistent, ever classy and evergreen Olivier Peslier on top. Alson is a gift for Cheminaud so the tactics on him still mystify.

All of these in mind I will unashamedly be sticking with VICTOR LUDORUM. Visually superb in the Lagardere and undercooked for his return expect a reinvigorated version and with the Petit General’s form turned up to 11 he is the one for me. It is difficult to see outside of the other major contenders filling the places and of the two I would count The Summit as his biggest challenger.

A Shamardal for France and maybe a Shamardal for England too?!

A final note - it was a real shame to lose Helter Skelter before this race as he would also have been a worthy adversary to those mentioned in the article.

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