By Tom Frary
Deauville August is underway and with it a new TDN Rising Star as White Birch Farm's homebred Ultrafragola (Ire) (Sottsass {Fr}–Toinette, by Scat Daddy) provided her Prix du Jockey Club and Arc-winning first-crop sire with a sensational breakthrough winner turning the Prix des Marettes into a procession. Well found in the market as the 7-5 favourite, the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained daughter of the four-times graded-stakes winner travelled strongly for Christophe Soumillon in the wake of the early leader Marques (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}).
Looming to that stablemate two out, she was sent into a decisive advantage soon after and was under a hand ride as she outclassed her peers to win this important 7 1/2-furlong newcomers' race by 5 1/2 lengths. In doing so, she recorded a final three-furlong split of 33.85, over a second faster than that completed by the colt Misunderstood (Fr) (Hello Youmzain {Fr}) in the preceding Prix de Crevecoeur and it would be no surprise were she to go on to match the achievements of two of this contest's past winners in Zagora (Fr) (Green Tune) and Antonoe (First Defence). Second was the Tim Donworth-trained Bella India (Fr) (Goken {Fr}), with Marques dropping away to be a further 2 1/2 lengths behind in third.
“She is a very gifted filly who has always worked very nicely and easily,” Rouget's assistant Jean-Bernard Roth said of the winner, whose dam enjoyed her highlight when taking the the GII Goldikova Stakes and was a $800,000 Keeneland November purchase in 2020. “We hope that the great moments we enjoyed with Sottsass will be repeated with his progeny and this one could be out of the top drawer.”
Impressive!
The well bred Ultrafragola, who is the first winner for the stallion Sottsass, makes an eye-catching debut for @CSoumillon and Jean-Claude Rouget at Deauville… pic.twitter.com/sT6DdWDj6R
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 28, 2024
Pedigree Notes
This was the perfect script for Sottsass's first winner, with his son Chauncey Gardiner (Ire) narrowly denied in the fixture's opener 30 minutes earlier for the same connections. Ultrafragola is the first foal out of Toinette, who was successful in the GIII Edgewood Stakes, GIII Autumn Miss Stakes and GIII Wilshire Stakes as well as the Goldikova and whose 2023 and 2024 offerings are both colts by Frankel (GB). She is out of I Bet Toni Knows (Sunriver), who along with her half-brother Possessed (Posse) captured the New York Stallion Stakes.
2nd-Deauville, €50,000, Debutantes, 7-28, 2yo, f, 7 1/2fT, 1:36.34, g/s.
ULTRAFRAGOLA (IRE), f, 2, by Sottsass (Fr)
1st Dam: Toinette (MGSW-US, $580,720), by Scat Daddy
2nd Dam: I Bet Toni Knows, by Sunriver
3rd Dam: Ibetyouwishyouknew, by Mr. Greeley
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, €25,000. O/B-White Birch Farm (IRE); T-Jean-Claude Rouget. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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