France
Drumbeat wins G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud
By Sean Cronin
With Saint-Cloud's opening Group 1 contest going the way of a pillar-to-post winner, the track's second – the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud – fell to a closer as Aidan O'Brien trainee Drumbeat (Wootton Bassett) backed up a breakthrough win in this month's G3 Zetland in the Paris venue's 10-furlong heat.
“He is a lovely horse, he handled the ground and got the trip well,” reflected O'Brien after moving to within one of Francois Mathet's record eight victories. “He probably learned plenty today, which was great, so we couldn't be happier. He is a lovely horse to think about for next year.”
Ryan Moore added, “He is a very straightforward horse and showed a lot of quality. He had the pace to go and take the gap, and he quickened up well.”
The 9-10 favourite, who had previously shared the spoils in a Gowran maiden before running third in the G2 Beresford, was settled off the pace in sixth until turning for home.
Taking closer order once into the straight, he was ridden along to challenge approaching the final furlong and found plenty once gaining an advantage soon after to easily overpower stablemate Shakespeare (Dubawi) and the Joseph O'Brien-trained G1 Golden Fleece runner-up Jesus Green (Ghaiyyath) by two lengths and a length.
Pedigree: Drumbeat, who becomes the 24th Group 1 winner for his sire, is the fourth of five foals and one of two scorers out of Group 1-winning South African champion Cloth Of Cloud (Captain Al), herself a half-sister to four black-type performers headed by G1 Cape Fillies Guineas victrix Silver Mountain (Silvano).
Cloth Of Cloud was thrown by a stakes-winning half-sister to G1 Breeders' Cup Mile-winning sire Artie Schiller (El Prado), while the winner's third dam is G1 Santa Anita Oaks and G1 Hollywood Oaks heroine Hidden Light (Majestic Light).
Queenstown wins G1 Saint-Cloud's Prix Royal-Oak
By Sean Cronin
Runner-up in Ascot's G1 British Champions Long Distance Cup eight days ago, Aidan O'Brien entry Queenstown (Galileo) was making his fifth start in nine weeks in Sunday's G1 Prix Royal-Oak and doubled the trainer's tally by making it in the 15 1/2-furlong marathon.
“He really is an incredible horse, he's Scandinavia's lead horse at home and he really deserves his Group 1 win,” said O'Brien, who also struck with Yeats in 2008. “He is very brave and, even though he'd only raced last week, he always gives his best. Ryan [Moore] gave him an incredible ride and I am delighted for the lads and the whole team.”
The 14-5 favourite, runner-up in this 'French St Leger' last year, snagged August's G3 Irish St Leger Trial and had since placed in the G1 Irish St Leger and, for a second time, in the G1 Prix du Cadran.
In command throughout, he kicked clear off the home turn and stayed on relentlessly under a drive inside the final quarter-mile to hold Consent (Lope De Vega) and Highara (Latrobe) by three-quarters of a length and 4.5 lengths in ultimately comfortable fashion, stopping the clock in a new track-record time.
Reflecting on the performance of runner-up Consent, Luke Morris commented, “She has been running respectably all season, but when she gets this deep autumn ground she comes to her best. I thought it was a brave performance against a really tough and hardened horse. She has been a bit keen at home of late, so we elected to make sure she was relaxed early. I got a lovely split at the top of the straight and two furlongs out I thought she might wear down the winner, but the Aidan O'Brien horses are very tough. I felt when I got to him he responded again.
“It was a brave performance from the winner, but I'm very proud of my filly. If she doesn't race again, she has been a great servant to Heath House, but there is the Group 1 in Munich [Nov. 10 Grosser Preis von Bayern] over a mile-and-a-half, where the ground will be soft, and she will be competitive if she goes there.”
Pedigree: Queenstown, who becomes the 105th Group 1 winner for his sire, is the sixth of 11 foals and one of four winners produced by a daughter of G1 1000 Guineas heroine Virginia Waters (Kingmambo).
He is a full brother to the Group 3-winning G1 Irish Oaks and G1 Pretty Polly runner-up Rain Goddess and G3 Royal Whip third Realism (Galileo). He is also kin to the unraced 2-year-old filly Dream Eternal (Wootton Bassett) and a yearling colt by Wootton Bassett.
Rain Goddess produced Listed Dee Stakes winner San Antonio (Dubawi) and the dual Listed-placed Easy Mover (Wootton Bassett). The winner hails from the immediate family of Group 1 winners Space Blues (Dubawi) and Chachamaidee (Footstepsinthesand).
G1 Criterium International won by Master Man
By Sean Cronin
Richard Chotard's Arqana Series Criterium d'Automne winner 2-year-old colt Master Man (Goken) had registered three wins and one Listed placing in five prior starts and stepped forward to claim a career-high in Sunday's G1 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud.
The 14-5 chance was swiftly into stride and led from flagfall in the one-mile contest. Holding sway throughout, he came under pressure approaching the quarter-mile pole and was driven out inside the final 300 metres to hold the Ballydoyle pair Capability Brown (Dubawi) and Aix La Chapelle (Justify), by a half-length and a length, in game fashion.
Pedigree: Master Man becomes the first Group 1 and fourth pattern-race winner for his sire. The son of Kendargent stands at Haras de Colleville.
He is the third of four foals and one of two winners out of an unraced half-sister to G2 Prix de Sandringham victrix Godspeed (Hello Youmzain), this term's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches runner-up The Last Dance (Iffraaj) and Listed Prix La Sorellina second Mary's France (Acclamation).
Japan
Contrail gets first Group 1 with Going To Sky
By Heather Anderson
Field Racing's Going To Sky handed jockey Yutaka Take a record-breaking sixth G1 Kikuka Sho score at Kyoto on Sunday. Holding the lead late in the stretch, the Contrail colt put his nose down where it counted to fend off the closing Basse Terre (Kitasan Black). Danon History (Epiphaneia) was back in third, a half-length in front of Sanono Greater (Greater London) in the final Japanese Classic of the season. Heavy favourite Lovcen (World Premiere), aiming to become the ninth Japanese Triple Crown Winner, did not handle the trip and finished 14th.
Previously tied with Christophe Lemaire on five wins apiece in the Kikuka Sho, Take now holds the lead with six in the 3000-metre Japanese St Leger. Lemaire finished third aboard Danon History, just a nose and a length from taking the record outright.
“I was hoping the rain would stay away, and it did,” Take said. “He started well, which put me in a good position. I didn't want to move in the trip – actually, we were in a spot where we couldn't move – so I waited for the final stretch and he reacted very well when the gap emerged. At about the 200-metre mark, I thought I might be able to win.
“I didn't know if I had won, but Yuga [Kawada, on Basse Terre] was frustrated after crossing the line, so that's when I knew we had won.
“The Aoba Sho was the first race I rode him, and after that race, I thought he would be a chance in the Kikuka Sho. From there, I worked with the trainer and stable staff, and I'm very happy with how everything worked out.”
Sent off at 11-1, third choice in the 18-horse field, the son of stakes winner Goin To The Window (Tapit) settled in midfield as King Glory (Danon Premium) zipped straight to the front and quickly opened up on the field. Ask Edinburgh (Leontes) sat second. The first 1000 metres was covered in 58.40s, with King Glory ahead by about 15 lengths. The frontrunner extended his margin to almost 25 lengths for the backstretch run, and he hit the 2000-metre mark in 2:00.70.
Starting to come back to the field at the 600-metre pole, King Glory abruptly looked leg-weary, and it was Sea To Summit Maurice) who was closest to the tiring leader 400 metres from home. Several foes were unwinding powerful stretch drives, not least Danon History, but Going To Sky had yet to hit the front a furlong from the wire. A hole appeared and he dashed through, finding the lead with a half-furlong to travel and winning the bob from the rallying Basse Terre. Danon History stuck around for third. Lovcen sat 12th for much of the race and rallied up to midfield before fading.
Lovcen's jockey Kohei Matsuyama told Weekly Gallop, “I couldn't deliver results in this crucial race for the Triple Crown, and I'm truly sorry. That's all there is to it.”
Lovcen's trainer Harunori Suyama told the same publication, “We've been saying that 3000 metres might be a stretch given his build, but since he stood out in terms of ability in this generation, we approached it with the expectation that his talent would carry him through. However, in the end, we have to say it was the wall of distance.
“We'll have a good discussion with the owner about what kind of race would be best for this horse, and start over from scratch. We'll keep pushing forward.”
A winner on debut over 2000 metres at Tokyo last October, Going To Sky was third in the G3 Kyoto Nisai Stakes in November and did not resurface until a sixth-place run in the G3 Kisaragi Sho at Kyoto in February. Back on top in the G2 Aoba Sho trying 2400 metres for the first time at Tokyo in April, he found Lovcen too good when fourth in the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at the end of May. He warmed up for the Kikuka Sho with a sixth-place finish in the G2 Asahi Hai St Lite Kinen behind Sunday's 10th-place finisher Justin Chicago (Suave Richard) at Nakayama on September 13.
Pedigree: The first Group 1 scorer and Classic hero for his 2020 Japanese Triple Crown-winning sire Contrail, Going To Sky beat the stallion's other two Kikuka Sho entries, with Majorelle Bleu seventh and Congestus, a winner of the G2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai, eighth on Sunday. He has four worldwide stakes winners, all in Japan.
Part of former multiple US Champion Sire Tapit's brigade of 152 stakes winners, 74 of which are at the Group/Graded level, Going To Sky is the 19th top-tier scorer out of a daughter of the Gainesway great. The grey's leading runner in that sphere is the six-time Japanese Group 1 heroine Gran Alegria, by Contrail's sire Deep Impact.
The seventh foal out of the US stakes winner Goin To The Window, Going To Sky sold for ¥30,000,000 (AU$284,000) to TMK Racing from the draft of Chiyoda Farm during the 2023 JRHA Select Sale. He is followed by a 2-year-old winning half-sister named Goin To Nova (Kitasan Black), and a yearling full sister to the winner. Goin To The Window was covered by Real Steel last spring.
The dam earned her stakes win in Washington, but the family goes back to G1 Maskette Stakes heroine and bluehen Too Chic (Blushing Groom). This is the family of champion Queena (Mr. Prospector) and her trio of stakes winners in G1 Hollywood Derby hero-turned sire Brahms (Danzig) and G3 Tempted Stakes victress La Reina. G1 Ashland Stakes heroine Chic Shirine is a full sister to Queena.
