21 May Caballo De Mar Edges Vicomtesse Vigier Thriller
Back at the scene of his landmark success in the marathon G1 Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend, Victorious Forever’s Caballo De Mar (Phoenix Of Spain) proved the chief slugger of ParisLongchamp once again as he prevailed in a blanket finish to Thursday’s G1 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier.
On an evening designed to pay tribute to the late Aga Khan IV and which had already provided the perfect outcome via Daryz in the feature renamed in his honour, Caballo De Mar was providing the icing on the cake hailing from the same dynasty nurtured by the groundbreaking owner-breeder.
Notably in a smooth rhythm from the outset under Oisin Murphy, the 18-1 shot who had lost out narrowly to the veteran Sweet William in the Sagaro at the start of the month kept his compatriot Santorini Star (Golden Horn) within striking range throughout. The first to wrest away her advantage with 300 gruelling metres still to run, the pride of George Scott’s Newmarket yard grasped gamely to his slim advantage from there to score by a short neck and provide the Suffolk town with a memorable one-two.
That was only half the story, however, with last year’s Irish St Leger hero Al Riffa (Wootton Bassett) arriving agonisingly too late under Dylan Browne McMonagle to be a short head away in third. The 29-10 favourite Asmarani (Sottsass) was another short neck away in fourth, a head in front of Fairy Glen (Farhh).
“It was pretty straightforward,” Murphy said. “It turned into a bit of a dash in the false straight, but he did it well.” Scott added, “He just tries so hard. He’s such an individual character and all of the team do such a good job. He’s one in a million and seems to always get underestimated. He got such a good ride–Oisin is a rare talent and we were glad to have him on board today.”
Also successful in the G3 Deutsches St Leger in September, Caballo De Mar may have been feeling the effects of his Cadran slog when last in the Prix Royal-Oak over this 15 1/2-furlong trip at Saint-Cloud later in October. Returning with a typically tough effort in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup in March, he was run down late by Fairy Glen there before succumbing only in the dying strides to Normandie Stud’s stalwart Sweet William in Ascot’s Group 3 Gold Cup warm-up this month.
“He’s a special racehorse,” Scott added. “Eliza [McCalmont] rides him every day and she’s done a great job, as well as everyone at home. Luke [Morris, on Consent] kind of took his nose off a little bit, halfway-ish, and actually I think that helped us because we had something to run at. I think we would have got racing a bit early otherwise.
“We know he stays really well. The Gold Cup has really been on our mind for so long but he was just jumping out of his skin, so we decided to come here and we’re so glad we did. It is rarefied air, to win a Group 1, so it’s very special for all of us.
“He’s a horse that Billy Jackson-Stops and I found on a dreary afternoon in Tatts Ireland. We paid €30,000 for him for Blue Star Racing, who have been pivotal to my steady uprise and I’m so pleased for Shaikh Nasser, who’s just given me so much, so many opportunities. He was here last year with Shaikh Khalid for the Cadran and it’s nice to repay those people who give you so much.”
Pedigree Notes
As outlined above, remarkably Caballo De Mar hails from the Aga Khan Studs family of the fixture’s luminary Daryz. The first Group 1 winner for his sire in October, he is currently the last known foal out of Oberyn (Holy Roman Emperor) who is a granddaughter of the G3 Prix Minerve winner and excellent producer Daralinsha (Empery). She is out of Daryz’s fourth dam Darazina (Labus), linking the winner to all the same stars such as Darjina (Zamindar), Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) and Darsi (Polish Precedent).