Although the clocks are about to change and the National Hunt season is getting underway at Cheltenham this afternoon, there is perhaps time for one last Flat horse to add to the tracker. For me, that horse needs to be Lobelia, who made a winning debut for Jean-Claude Rouget in the Prix de Pomerol at Bordeaux this morning. A Sea the Moon filly out of a Group 1 winning mare, she was sent off a 4.1 2nd favourite on the PMU and whilst the short-priced Clovera may have disappointed in the closing stages, Lobelia excelled. We need to add a lot of context to this before anyone makes the assumption that this is the 2025 Arc de Triomphe winner. It is a newcomers maiden run on heavy ground at the end of October after all, but she could not have been more impressive and even without the sectional time data being available, the fact that she was faster than the Colts and Geldings race 30-minutes later bodes well.
Here are my notes on the 2-year-old races this morning:
Winner | Time | Réduction Km |
Lobelia | 139.48 | 73.41 |
Piquoiseau | 140.68 | 74.40 |
The Black Sky | 138.96 | 73.13 |
PRIX DE POMEROL
2YO Fillies Inédits maiden. Lobelia a 9-length winner. She is a Sea the Moon half-sister to Tamera out of a G1 winning mare, Temida. Sat behind the early pace set by Clovera (3rd) before sprinting clear once the gaps came after the cut-away in the home straight.
Kimbia stayed on nicely to finish 2nd, albeit at one pace and 9-lengths back. Time was 1s quicker than C&G maiden.
PRIX ACE IMPACT
Piquoiseau a 2.5-length winner for the Ferland yard. Stephane Pasquier kept him well covered up, but when the gap came in the home straight he had the ability to go through the gap. Jo Francais (2nd) raced next to the winner but didn’t have the gap and had to come wider. The winner showed a better turn-of-foot initially, but the gap between them did not change in the final furlong.
Everything else appeared to be stopping in the last furlong.
PRIX DE PAUILLAC
C2. The Black Sky is now 2-7 rated 41-kg. Sat behind the leader and then stayed on well, but at the weights with Mission Gamma (2nd) he didn’t need to improve at all here.
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