By Sean Cronin
Juddmonte's €440,000 Goffs November foal Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}–Nisriyna {Ire}, by Intikhab) closed his four-race juvenile campaign with a second in October's G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud and made a winning sophomore return under a Frankie Dettori masterclass in Wednesday's G3 Boodles Chester Vase.
Maintaining a three-wide passage off the rail and racing on fresher ground in second for most of this G1 Derby trial, the 10-11 favourite was sent to the front leaving the half-mile pole behind and stayed on strongly thereafter, crossing the line underneath the stands' side rail, to easily account for Ballydoyle's Criterium third Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) by a geared-down 6 1/2 lengths. Hadrianus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was the only one of three other rivals visible to the naked eye and finished 10 lengths further back in third.
“He handled conditions well and the trainer had him fitter than he thought he did,” joked John Gosden after notching his first success in the race. “Frankie was anxious to stay on the fresh ground, so you'll notice he stayed a bit wide and in the straight he nearly took out the grandstand. He's a delightful colt, he's gone and won well over the trip. He's done nothing but mature and improve, it was the full mile-and-a-half today and we'll leave all options open for Epsom. I think he enjoyed the ground and if Epsom was fast I don't think he'd enjoy that sort of surface. We put him in the Arc on Tuesday and he's got the scope to train on at three, and four and five. Enable raced until she was six.”
Dettori added, “He won very easily, but it's very hard to judge horses on this ground and to know the quality of the field. He can only win by a good margin, he's a good size and he's going places. We know he stays well and doesn't mind the ground. We liked him as a 2-year-old, but he was very weak. He's strengthened up and we knew the ground was no problem and the distance was no problem. The race fell apart three out, but he couldn't have won any easier.”
Juddmonte's Barry Mahon continued, “That was great and we're over the moon. It was sort of Plan C [to come here], but at least it's worked out and he's won in good style. We'll wait and see how he comes out of this and see what the ground is like [at Epsom]. We're in a nice position, in that he's in everywhere, and he's won his trial and he's fit, so we can pick and choose where we want to go.”
Pedigree Notes
Arrest is the seventh of nine foals and one of six scorers out of an unraced half to MGSW G1 Nassau S. and G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud placegetter Narniyn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and multiple stakes winner Temerity (Ind) (Intense Focus). The April-foaled bay is a half-brother to GSW G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup third Dinozzo (Ire) (Lilbourne Lad {Ire}), Listed Rous S. third Spring Loaded (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}), a yearling filly by Wootton Bassett (GB) and a weanling colt by Dark Angel (Ire). Descendants of his third dam Noufiyla (Ire) (Top Ville {Ire}) include MGSW G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup runner-up Maiden Tower (GB) (Groom Dancer) and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac third Copperbeech (Ire) (Red Ransom).
Wednesday, Chester, Britain
BOODLES CHESTER VASE S.-G3, £120,000, Chester, 5-10, 3yo, c/g, 12f 63yT, 2:52.31, sf.
1–ARREST (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Nisriyna (Ire), by Intikhab
2nd Dam: Narmina (Ire), by Alhaarth (Ire)
3rd Dam: Noufiyla (Ire), by Top Ville (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€440,000 Wlg '20 GOFNOV). O-Juddmonte; B-Swordlestown Little (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £67,224. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Fr, 5-3-1-1, $157,353. *1/2 to Dinozzo (Ire) (Lilbourne Lad {Ire}), GSW & G1SP-HK, $1,509,980; and Spring Loaded (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}), SP-Eng, $300,332. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Adelaide River (Ire), 128, c, 3, Australia (GB)–Could It Be Love, by War Front. O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. £25,596.
3–Hadrianus (Ire), 128, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Laugh Out Loud (GB), by Clodovil (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (62,000gns Ylg '21 TADEY). O-Susan & John Waterworth; B-C O P Hanbury (IRE); T-Charlie Johnston. £12,816.
Margins: 6HF, 10, 97. Odds: 0.91, 2.25, 6.00.
Also Ran: Duke Of Oxford (GB), Galactic Jack (Ire).
A farewell winner on the Roodee for @FrankieDettori
Arrest wins the Boodles @ChesterRaces Vase with ease for the Gosdens and @JuddmonteFarms… pic.twitter.com/LtygIXzK98
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 10, 2023
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