By Jill Williams
Nobody was going to rain on Elusive Princess (Fr) (Martinborough {Jpn}–Elusive Action {Fr}, by Elusive City)'s parade as she emerged from the bog that was Saratoga's lawn Friday to score her first stakes win in the GIII Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. With pouring rain that led to an abandoned post parade and eventually cancelled the rest of the card, the field for the Saratoga Oaks went straight from the paddock to the gate.
Selenaia (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) controlled the pace through :23.55 and :48.57 early fractions while Elusive Princess parked under cover on the rail several lengths in arrears. The rain continued to fall as Elusive Princess, American Sonja (GB) (Tasleet {GB}), and Papilio (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) all launched their bids on the turn just as Selenaia threw in the towel. The latter two raced in tandem while extremely wide with Elusive Princess angling out even wider, at least a dozen paths out from the rail. The winner blew right by the wide duo, prompting Flavien Prat to ease up and the filly's ears to prick several strides before the wire. They finished 3 1/4 lengths to the good.
“I thought I was in a good position,” said Prat. “She actually jumped better than I thought and she was traveling well. Really handy and when I had a chance I thought not taking any risk then the two horses in front of me came really shifting out, but I ended up fine. I was actually on the good ground so I was okay with it. I was going to go outside, but I ended up being a lot wider than I thought.”
Winner of three in a row in France to close out 2022 and open 2023, including two over the boys, Elusive Princess placed in both the G1 Prix Saint-Alary and G3 Prix Cleopatre this spring. She finished well but missed the board in her final French start–the June 18 G1 Prix de Diane Longines at Chantilly.
Hubert Guy of Bloodstock Management Services was instrumental in bringing Elusive Princess stateside.
“I thought she was a filly that would fit really well here in this country,” said Guy. “Jean-Phillipe [Dubois] trains her, owns her, bred her, and really did not want to part with her. After she was second in [the Prix Cleopatre] where she got into a lot of trouble–she got blocked on the rail and should have won easy–he decided to sell off. So, I contacted Alex [Solis] and Jason [Litt] and LNJ Foxwoods–Larry, Nanci, Jaime–and we agreed on a deal that he would train the horse to the French Oaks and maybe no later, but when she finished fifth in the French Oaks, [it was] an amazing fifth because she was way too far back. She should have been closer. We wouldn't have won, but we would have been second or third.
“From there, we decided to run in this race with the LNJ Foxwoods team and to have Mr. Dubois train her because he did a really good job training her. It's the first time he's running in America.
“This looked like a good spot to get started in this country. She's going to stay here now and she will be trained by Arnaud Delacour and running for LNJ Foxwoods and Mr. Dubois is keeping his half.
“We thought it was a good spot to start–beautiful venue here, Saratoga is magic. It worked out really good. She's very good on the soft. She's very good on the firm. She's a special filly.”
ELUSIVE PRINCESS could not be caught in the @FasigTiptonCo Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G3) with Flavien Prat up! #Saratoga pic.twitter.com/30blR4Yc7b
— NYRA (🎪) (@TheNYRA) August 4, 2023
Pedigree Notes:
Haras de la Baie stands the Japanese-bred Martinborough (Jpn), a multiple Group winner in Japan who notched his first graded winner with Elusive Princess's Saratoga Oaks win. The Deep Impact (Jpn) sire has just four small crops of racing age, all in France. He got his first black-type winner earlier this year at Cagnes-sur-Mer, bringing his total count of stakes winners to two. Elusive Princess is also the 28th stakes winner out of a daughter of Elusive City, who died in 2019 at age 19 at Haras d'Etreham in France after suffering a heart attack.
Elusive Princess is the first foal of her unraced dam, who also has a yearling full-sister to the Saratoga Oaks winner. Elusive Princess's fourth dam, Irish highweight Diamond Seal (Ire) (Persian Bold {Ire}), produced three Group winners and a Group-placed daughter who produced three more.
Friday, Saratoga
FASIG-TIPTON SARATOGA OAKS INVITATIONAL S.-GIII, $400,000, Saratoga, 8-4, 3yo, f, 1 3/16mT, 1:57.08, sf.
1–ELUSIVE PRINCESS (FR), 121, f, 3, by Martinborough (Jpn)
1st Dam: Elusive Action (Fr), by Elusive City
2nd Dam: Diamond Flawless (Fr), by Cape Cross (Ire)
3rd Dam: Dee Flawless (Fr), by Linamix (Fr)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-LNJ Foxwoods, Ecurie Victoria Dreams, NK Racing and Anthony V. Munafo; B/T-Jean-Philippe Dubois (FR); J-Flavien Prat. $220,000. Lifetime Record: GISP-Fr, 8-4-2-0, $378,379. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–American Sonja (GB), 121, f, 3, Tasleet (GB)–Gumhrear (Ire), by Kodiac (GB). (22,000gns Wlg '20 TATFOA; £30,000 Ylg '21 TATIRY; 95,000gns 2yo '22 TATBRE). O-Mark Dobbin; B-Whatcote Farm Stud (GB); T-Joseph Patrick O'Brien. $80,000.
3–Papilio (Ire), 121, f, 3, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Glafyra (Fr), by High Chaparral (Ire). (€60,000 Ylg '21 ARAUG). O-D. J. Stable LLC, Medallion Racing, Barry Fowler and Parkland Thoroughbreds; B-SCEA Marmion & Mr A. Jathiere (Ire); T-Mark E. Casse. $48,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, HF, 6 3/4. Odds: 1.35, 9.50, 3.95.
Also Ran: Caroline Street, Strikingly Spun, Xigera, Allamericanbeauty, Selenaia (Ire), Solo Album, Honor D Lady. Scratched: Aspen Grove (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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