By Tom Frary
It was Francis-Henri Graffard celebrating after Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac which opened ParisLongchamp's Arc card, but not with the filly widely expected as Gemini Stud and Argella Racing's Vertical Blue (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}–Krunch {GB}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) denied her much-vaunted stablemate Zarigana (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) in a pulsating finish. Last seen finishing second in Lyon-Parilly's Listed Criterium de Lyon over this mile trip last month, the 32-1 shot was settled in mid-pack early enjoying crucial cover as Ballydoyle's Exactly (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) cut out the running.
Staying on dourly up the straight as the leader refused to relent, the bargain €50,000 Arqana Deauville August graduate looked likely to come off second-best in the pursuit as Zarigana edged ahead inside the final furlong. As that 1-2 favourite got to Exactly 50 metres from the line, Vertical Blue forged between them in the dying strides to win by inches. Favoured by the bob of heads having been second just before the line and after, the winner was probably the slightly stronger stayer of the Graffard pair on the turf turning ever softer by the consistent Parisian rain.
“It's unbelievable, they are both amazing fillies,” Graffard said. “My other filly is really a champion, she quickened strongly but the other one has experience and I knew on a big, galloping track she would be competitive. Vertical Blue went the shortest way around and was able to maintain her momentum and Zarigana's path was a carbon copy of her previous race. I'd also like to add that a percentage of our winnings will be donated to the Au-Delà Des Pistes association, whose mission is to rehome and retrain racehorses.”
Big upset! 100/1 Vertical Blue nabs the Group 1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac – Criterium des Pouliches from Zarigana at @paris_longchamp… #WinAndYoureIn @GraffardRacing @pouchinalexis pic.twitter.com/MKb0OPgg95
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 6, 2024
Whereas her heavily-favoured stablemate had dazzled on both her career starts to far, Vertical Blue is one of those who has needed racing to bring her to a peak and a crude measure of how far she has come since her debut is in the form of that Saint-Cloud maiden second in June. Starting out over seven furlongs, she was denied by this race's withdrawal Rosa Salvaje (Ire) (Maximum Security) who was seven lengths behind Zarigana when third in the G3 Prix d'Aumale last month.
She was beaten again over the same trip later that month at Chantilly, this time by three lengths by Relaxx (Fr) (City Light {Fr}) who went on to be third in the G3 Prix Six Perfections and who also links to the formline of Zarigana having been nearly 10 lengths behind her when sixth in the d'Aumale. Making no mistake at the third attempt over this trip at Clairefontaine in July, Vertical Blue was possibly given too much to do when finding only the colt Madero (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) too strong on her black-type debut at Lyon-Parilly.
Interestingly, she was marginally slower over the final three furlongs here than Zarigana, whose penultimate split of 10.85 was the fastest of the race and who remains a high-class Classic prospect for 2025.
Gemini Stud's Francis Teboul added, “We hesitated over running her in the Arqana Series or in the Marcel Boussac. We knew she was a quality filly and that she could run to a place, because Francis-Henri told us that she was in great form, he's a fantastic trainer who doesn't get things wrong very often. We just thought we had nothing to lose, but we never thought we would beat the favourite!”
Nemone Routh, racing manager of the Aga Khan Studs, gave the immediate reaction to the narrow defeat of Zarigana. “She's a very sensitive filly and there are still areas for improvement with her,” he said. “She has her future ahead of her. She has a lot of speed and will begin her 2025 campaign over 1,600 metres. It's true that we're disappointed to have got beaten, but that's racing! She's come a long way in a short space of time.”
Pedigree Notes
Vertical Blue, who becomes the sixth group 1 winner for her sire, is so far the only foal out of Krunch who is a daughter of the Listed Flame of Tara Stakes winner and G3 Prix Imprudence-placed Spinacre (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}). She is in turn a half to three other black-type winners including San Sicharia (Ire) (Daggers Drawn), who was successful in the G3 Chartwell Fillies' Stakes, and Spin Cycle (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) who was runner-up in the G2 Norfolk Stakes.
The fourth dam is Jean-Luc Lagardere's Vadsagreya (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}), which links the winner to Linamix's G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois hero Vahorimix (Fr) and a host of luminaries including the Breeders' Cup Mile hero Val Royal (Fr).
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX MARCEL BOUSSAC – CRITERIUM DES POULICHES-G1, €400,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-6, 2yo, f, 8fT, 1:38.60, sf.
1–VERTICAL BLUE (IRE), 123, f, 2, by Mehmas (Ire)
1st Dam: Krunch (GB), by Sea The Stars (Ire)
2nd Dam: Spinacre (Ire), by Verglas (Ire)
3rd Dam: Spinamix (GB), by Spinning World
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (€50,000 Ylg '23 ARQAUG). O-Gemini Stud & Argella Racing; B-Haras du Mont Dit Mont (IRE); T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Alexis Pouchin. €228,560. Lifetime Record: 5-2-3-0, €267,560. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Zarigana (Ire), 123, f, 2, Siyouni (Fr)–Zarkamiya (Fr), by Frankel (GB). TDN Rising Star. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-H H The Aga Khan; B-H H The Aga Khan's Studs SC (GB); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €91,440.
3–Exactly (Ire), 123, f, 2, Frankel (GB)–Heartache (GB), by Kyllachy (GB). O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €45,720.
Margins: NO, HF, 3. Odds: 32.90, 0.50, 9.00.
Also Ran: Simmering (GB), Bedtime Story (Ire), Lhakpa (Ire), La Guapisima (Fr), Inhebhaa (Fr), La Ferretcapienne (Fr). Scratched: Rosa Salvaje (Ire).
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