It is never too late to be thinking about finding the winner of the Triumph hurdle. Although we are in the middle of the summer break in France and there is no doubt that you're more likely to find a top-class juvenile at Auteuil in the Spring than you are at a summer meeting at Dieppe or Clairefontaine, it's not impossible. As a recent example, St Donat's, the 2022 winner of the Prix Cambaceres, made his debut at Dieppe in the May of that year.
This morning's meeting at Vittel is a relatively low key affair, but there is a fascinating 3-year-old hurdle at 11:15am (UK time) and I have put together a brief synopsis of the 6-runners going to post below.
LINGOT DES OBEAUX G (Clovis du Berlais x Omega des Obeaux(Saint Preuil))
Mme. S Marsch
Louis Colson
Half-brother to 4 winners including Alpha des Obeaux. Dam 3-race maiden, closely related to G1 winning juvenile Fusil Raffles.
14/7/24 - 3YO AQPS 2,400m Vittel - 9th - Outpaced from an early stage and ridden along in rear at halfway. Eased when soundly beaten rounding home turn.
Nicely bred gelding, part owned by Sindy Marsch, but showed very little on debut. Immediate pedigree would suggest he will need a longer trip and certainly softer conditions. Would need to find enormous improvement to be a factor here. 3.5% estimated chance.
KLAMPENBOURG G (Ultra x Kestrelle (Kingsalsa))
P Quinton
Jean-Stephane Lebrun
(Supplemented)
Unraced. 1st Foal. Dam a 9f Flat winner, peak OR 33kg. Half-sister to Hong Kong G3 winner Kontrastat.
Yard operating at 10% SR in 2024, including 3 winners from last 20-runners, but had only 1 winner in 3YO Hurdles (Folkoriko). Has a fair page and ought to be suited by the summer ground, but some guesswork needed. 12.5% estimated chance.
ALLATHEYSS G (Polarix x Alakhania(Dalakhani))
D Cottin
Alejandro Ruiz Gonzalez
Unraced. 4th Foal. Dam 3-race maiden. Grand-Dam G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Goldamix.
Yard in a quiet spell (1 winner from last 20), 11.83% SR in 2024, but have had 4 winners of 3YO hurdles this year. Polarix generally tough and able to take their racing, but he wears a hood and tongue-tie combination today which would ring some alarm bells. 12.5% estimated chance.
LACRIMA G (Voiladenuo x Vie Royale(Kapgarde))
N George & A Zetterholm
James Reveley
Unraced. Half-brother to 3 winners including Italian G2 placed Vino Royale. Dam winning Chaser over 3,500m.
Yard operating at a consistent 16.3% SR in 2024, including 3 winners of 3YO Hurdles. Champion Jockey here for 3 rides. Breeding might suggest he will want further than this in time, but of obvious interest. No headgear a plus in this field. Dam’s progeny yet to reach beyond €25k in the ring a slight concern.
37% estimated chance.
LA GAIETE F (Nirvana du Berlais x La Griottiere(Turgeon))
M Seror
Gabin Meunier
(Supplemented)
Unraced. 2nd Foal. Half-Sister to winning debutante Duchesse de Dino. Dam G3 winning juvenile hurdler, half-sister to 2 winning 3YO hurdlers.
Not easy for a filly against the boys, but supplemented by yard operating at 15% SR last month. Seror has had 4 winning 3YOs this year. On paper, she is the most obvious type to be a precocious 3YO. Should handle the better ground. 30% estimated chance.
LA VIE LIBRE F (Kitkou x Union Libre(Alberto Giacometti))
F Gelhay
Giovanni Boinard
4th Foal. Dam 5-time APQS Flat race winner.
31/3/24 - 3YO AQPS Lignieres - 8th - Led at a modest pace, headed turning in and quickly beaten. Eased off in final 2-furlongs. 11.0 PMU
14/7/24 - 3YO AQPS 2,400m Vittel - 7th - Led. Swamped as they turned for home and quickly beaten, though only nudged out (Lingot des Obeaux 9th).
2 starts. Showed only modest improvement when 7th here last time. Likely pace angle, but will need to show a lot of improvement for switch to hurdles. Yard had just 2-winners from 68-runners so far in 2024. 4.5% estimate chance.
Comments