When Vertical Blue (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) won the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac she led home a one-two for her trainer Francis Graffard as she pipped the Aga Khan Studs' Zarigana (GB) (Siyouni {Ire}) on the line.
The runner-up, who went into the race unbeaten, including a victory in the G3 Prix d'Aumale, had started odds-on favourite with Vertical Blue as one of the outsiders of the field, but the latter's success came as no surprise to Graffard, who had held her in high regard from the outset.
“She's a big filly with a lot of attitude – but a good attitude, I've always liked her,” he says.
Vertical Blue now presents the rare opportunity to buy a readymade Classic prospect. The Group 1 winner, owned by Gemini Stud and Argella Racing, heads to the second Sceptre Session of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale next Tuesday as a wildcard entry, lot 1770A. The filly who thwarted the Aga Khan's runner on Arc weekend traces back to a family which has been incorporated into the Aga Khan Studs as her fourth dam is Vadsagreya (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}), who was bred by Jean-Luc Lagardere. Closer up in the family, Vertical Blue's granddam Spinacre (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}) won the listed Flame of Tara Stakes, while her dam Krunch (GB) is a dual-winning daughter of Sea The Stars (Ire) who made €310,000 when sold at Arqana as a yearling. Vertical Blue is her first foal.
Graffard recalls, “She showed some precocity so she started early in Saint-Cloud. She had a bad draw but she showed an impressive turn of foot so we were pleased with that run and the form of that race has worked out really well.”
From her debut runner-up slot, Vertical Blue had to settle for second again when she appeared next at Chantilly.
“She was again unlucky on her second start and again showed a good turn of foot, but for me as her trainer, these two runs were very important for the filly for the rest of her career because she matured without having a hard race,” Graffard says.
At Clairefontaine in July, Vertical Blue stepped up to a mile and made it a case of third time lucky.
“She showed what we all thought about her at that stage,” says the trainer. “Then the plan was to go for a listed race and get some black type. She was very unlucky in that listed race at Lyon. She got too far back and finished strongly but too late. Mickael [Barzalona, jockey], when he saw he wasn't going to catch the winner, just gave her an easy race.”
Another second-place finish in the book and some black type earned. It may well have been off to winter quarters for Vertical Blue then had it not been for the fact that she was indicating to Graffard that she was still very well in herself.
“We always thought she would make a nice three-year-old but she was so well we decided to give her one more run on Arc weekend because I was very pleased with the condition of the filly,” he says.
“We put absolutely no pressure on [jockey] Alexis Pouchin. We were just hoping for her to run well. My Aga Khan filly took her with her when she accelerated and Vertical Blue is a fighter and she put her head in front.
“My other filly is a very nice prospect for next year and the form was really strong. I think it will work out well.”
Despite her achievements of this year, Graffard says that he fully expects Vertical Blue to improve again at three.
He notes, “She's a big, scopey filly with a big stride and she is very nice and relaxed during her races so I don't see why she won't stay a trip next year. Her mother is by Sea The Stars and for me she is very effective over a mile. She has experience because she has run five times this year, and she could be an Oaks filly too in France over 10 furlongs. I don't see why not. She has run on fast ground and obviously she can also cope with soft ground.
“She's the highest-rated two-year-old in France, even above the colts, so it's good to have her in the boxes.”
Vertical Blue is one of three juvenile Group 1 winners for her sire this year, along with the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Magnum Force (Ire) and National Stakes winner Scorthy Champ (Ire).
“My wife and myself recommended to the owner to buy a Mehmas,” Graffard says. “I've been very lucky with him – I've had [group/graded winners] Malavath and Chez Pierre – so they bought this filly, and obviously he's been a lucky stallion for me but also for lots of other people as well.”
He adds of Vertical Blue, “She has a good eye on her, she's happy, and I can't wait for next year with her.”
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