Peter Brant and Chad Brown enjoyed a productive GI Kentucky Derby week with victories in the GIII Modesty S. and GII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S., and they picked up right where they left off Saturday with Michael Tabor getting in on the action.
Having repeatedly come out on the wrong end of blanket finishes last year while campaigned by trainer Cedric Rossi and Le Haras de La Gousserie, Rougir got her nose down on the line in the G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines at ParisLongchamp Oct. 3 before settling for seventh after a rough journey in the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Turf Nov. 6. She returned to France to top Arqana's December Breeding Stock sale at €3,000,000, and was looking to become the third seven-figure buy from that auction to run back and win, following in the hoofsteps of her Distaff Turf Mile-winning stablemate Speak of the Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) (€1.95 million) and G3 Prix Allex France Longines heroine Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) (€2.5 million).
Dropping out the back early as is typical of this type, Rougir began to inch closer while three deep after a sluggish :52.13 half. She continued to build momentum after six furlongs in 1:16.24, and showed off her closing kick to run up the score.
“I was thrilled with her race,” said Brown. “She showed a nice turn of foot that she shows us in the morning. It certainly looks like she'll stretch out fine. She's proven at a mile and a quarter previously and I think that's where she's headed. We'll take a look at running her back in the [June 10 GI] New York Handicap. There was an easy pace and such and she was still able to overcome and run well.”
Brown added, “I'm the lucky recipient of some nice fillies [Peter Brant] bought over there [in Europe]. Me and my team are very grateful for all the horses Mr. Brant sends us. It looks like we're off to a great season. This is his tenth graded win already this season. He's having a great year and deservedly so. He's done the right thing by his horses [this] winter resting them.”
Winning rider Flavien Prat was coming off a double-digit score in the GIII Peter Pan S. one race earlier.
“I had the chance down the backside and got myself outside the slow pace and it felt like it wasn't going to be any good to stay on the inside,” said Prad. “So, I gave myself the chance to go around and it was a big help for me.”
Prat, who moved his tack from California to New York this spring, has become Brown's go-to rider.
“It's been a pleasure to ride for him,” said Prat. “I just try to do my best. Obviously, he's given me some great horses to ride, so I'm just a really spoiled guy right now.”
Saturday, Belmont Park
BEAUGAY S.-GIII, $150,000, Belmont, 5-14, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.40, fm.
1–ROUGIR (FR), 122, f, 4, by Territories (Ire)
1st Dam: Summer Moon (Fr) (SP-Fr), by Elusive City
2nd Dam: Kalatuna (Fr), by Green Tune
3rd Dam: Kalasinger, by Chief Singer (Ire)
(€11,000 Wlg '18 ARQDE; €55,000 Ylg '19 ARAUG;
€3,000,000 3yo '21 ARQDEC). O-Peter M. Brant and Michael
Tabor; B-Jan Krauze (FR); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat.
$82,500. Lifetime Record: GISW, 15-5-1-3, $635,143.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+.
2–Our Flash Drive, 120, f, 4, Ghostzapper–Dynamotor, by
Dynaformer. O-Live Oak Plantation; B-Live Oak Stud (FL);
T-Mark E. Casse. $30,000.
3–High Opinion, 118, m, 5, Lemon Drop Kid–More Respect, by
More Than Ready. ($130,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Woodford
Racing, LLC and Team D; B-Fred W. Hertrich III & John D.
Fielding (KY); T-Anthony W. Dutrow. $18,000.
Margins: 3, NO, 3/4. Odds: 0.60, 28.50, 14.60.
Also Ran: Lemista (Ire), Runaway Rumour, Stolen Holiday, Plum Ali. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
Pedigree Notes:
Rougir (Fr) hails from the first crop of Dalham Hall Stud's Territories (Ire) and the French Group 1 winner is his best runner to date. His three Northern Hemisphere black-type winners and additional nine stakes-placed runners include five graded performers. Most are out of European-based broodmare sire lines, but, like Rougir, MGSP-Ire Teresa Mendoza (Ire) has a Gone West-line damsire (Mr. Greeley). Elusive City, the Beaugay winner's broodmare sire, counts 21 stakes winners out of his daughters.
Summer Moon (Fr) was black-type placed in France for Jean-Claude Rouget, then shipped stateside to Chad Brown's barn for one start in 2015 before she was retired and bred to Blame and Mizzen Mast for her first two foals. Shipped back across the pond again, she has switched hands a couple of times, most recently at Arqana December in 2019 for €15,000 to Genovaa. The mare, who has several generations of Aga Khan breeding behind her, has a 2-year-old filly named Benvenuti (Fr) (Style Vendome {Fr}). That one sold at Arqana's October yearling sale last year for €100,000 to Paul Nataf.
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