Dubawi's Zarak Gets His Group 1 At Saint-Cloud

Untried at this 12-furlong trip before this race, TDN Rising Star Zarak looked in need of it at every step and ultimately outstayed his opponents to finally gain the top-level success his pedigree and race record demanded. Runner-up to Almanzor (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in both the G1 Prix du Jockey Club over 10 1/2 furlongs at Chantilly last June and Deauville's G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano in August, the homebred was fourth reverting to what now appears to be an inadequate mile in the G1 Prix du Moulin back at Chantilly in September. His first real disappointing effort came when he was third as the hot favourite for the G2 Prix Dollar again back at Chantilly in October and he was left alone thereafter with a trip to Meydan in the offing.

Coming back strong to capture the G3 Dubai Millennium S. over 10 furlongs Feb. 16, the bay son of Zarkava was only fourth in the Mar. 25 G1 Dubai Turf over nine, but Alain de Royer-Dupre felt that he was not at his best on World Cup night and he returned to France to freshen up for the G1 Prix Ganay. Closing strongly at the death despite Christophe Soumillon losing his whip when second to Cloth of Stars (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in that 10 1/2-furlong contest here at the start of May, he was last of five in the interim in the G1 Prix d'Ispahan back over nine furlongs at Chantilly May 28 and entered this race with a point to prove. Dropped out early with one behind, Zarak was a touch outpaced off the genuine gallop and was shuffled to last at the top of the straight, but Soumillon refused to panic and took him wide for an uninterrupted run. As Doha Dream (Fr) (Shamardal) appeared to clip heels and unseat Gregory Benoist towards the rail, Zarak gained a slight lead with 300 metres remaining and was game as he fought off last year's winner Silverwave.

Alain de Royer-Dupre is happy to put a line through Zarak's below-par efforts at Chantilly and said, “Last time, he ran a bad race because the ground was much too firm and also because he definitely prefers a flat track and he didn't like the uphill and downhill of Chantilly. I always had a slight doubt about him getting a mile and a half, but he answered that question today and deserved that. Last year, he was twice beaten only a little by Almanzor, so the form was there. We'll now give him a break, but as the Arc is this year again at Chantilly, as is the [G2 Prix] Foy, I don't really know where he will go at the moment.” Silverwave's trainer Pascal Bary said of the runner-up, “We are happy with the run. We would have preferred to win this twice, but we have no excuse as he had the perfect trip and just found one too good on the day. He could possibly go for the [Aug. 27] G2 Grand Prix de Deauville or wait for the [G2 Prix] Foy [at Chantilly Sept. 10] after a summer break.”

Zarak was the first runner for his remarkable dam, with her first three foals failing to make the track and therefore she holds a 100 per-cent record as matters stand with regards to producing group 1 winners. Her 3-year-old colt Zarmitan (Fr) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) has yet to start, while she also has a 2-year-old daughter by Frankel (GB) named Zarkamiya (Fr) and a yearling colt by Invincible Spirit (Ire). Zarak is by some way the best of his sex to represent his family in four generations, with some smart distaffers such as the G3 Prix de Sandringham winner Zarkiya (Ire) (Catrail) generally the rule.

Sunday, Saint-Cloud, France
GRAND PRIX DE SAINT-CLOUD-G1, €400,000, SCD, 7-2, 4yo/up, 12fT, 2:27.76, g/s.
1–&ZARAK (FR), 128, c, 4, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Zarkava (Ire) (HotY-Eur & MG1SW-Fr, $4,793,989), by Zamindar
2nd Dam: Zarkasha (Ire), by Kahyasi (Ire)
3rd Dam: Zarkana (Ire), by Doyoun (Ire)
O-H H The Aga Khan; B-H H The Aga Khan's Studs SC (FR); T-Alain de Royer-Dupre; J-Christophe Soumillon. €228,560. Lifetime Record: GSW-UAE, 12-4-3-1, €1,223,957. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”frbc-chantilly”]2–Silverwave (Ire), 128, h, 5, Silver Frost (Ire)–Miss Bio (Fr), by River Mist. (€60,000 RNA Ylg '13 ARQOCT; €420,000 2yo '14 ARQNOV). O-HSpirit; B-Mlle Marie-Laure Collet, Jean Collet & Mme Marylene Collet (FR); T-Pascal Bary. €91,440.
3–Armande (Ire), 125, f, 4, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Alpine Snow (Ire), by Verglas (Ire). O-Baron Edouard de Rothschild & Lady Chryss O'Reilly; B-Petra Bloodstock Agency Ltd & Ecurie de Meautry (IRE); T-Andre Fabre. €45,720.
Margins: 3/4, 1 1/4, SNK. Odds: 4.40, 3.20, 9.00.
Also Ran: My Dream Boat (Ire), Left Hand (GB), Hawkbill, Tiberian (Fr), Robin of Navan (Fr), Erupt (Ire). DNF: Doha Dream (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.