Siyouni's Dream and Do Prevails in Pouliches Battle

Whereas the Poulains was a clear-cut affair, Deauville's G1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches provided a stirring climax as Haras du Logis Saint Germain's homebred Dream and Do (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) inched out Speak of the Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in a frantic bobbing finish. Demonstrating her worth in this league when runner-up to Tropbeau (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in the G3 Prix de la Grotte at ParisLongchamp last time May 11, Dream and Do and Maxime Guyon were on the front foot from the outset in this Classic gifted a perfect slot behind the pace-setter Marieta (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). Guyon waited until the furlong pole was close at hand to commit the 8-1 shot and that decision probably made the difference between glory and agonising defeat with the 18-1 chance Speak of the Devil lunging late. Dream and Do needed the line badly and looked initially to have gone down with Speak of the Devil enjoying the momentum, but the photo showed that she had prevailed in as tight a finish as this Classic has seen since the dead-heat between Coronation (Fr) and Galgala in 1949. Mageva (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who traded at 43-1, was to complete the surprise trifecta two lengths away, a head in front of the disappointing 17-10 favourite Tropbeau in fourth.

Dream and Do is the latest provincial girl come good in France's major races and Marseille-based trainer Frederic Rossi was quick to hail her importance in his career which has taken off in recent months. “She's my little champion and I'm in seventh heaven,” he proclaimed as he welcomed back his first winner at the top level. “We know that a mile is really her limit and on this straight course you have to have that little bit of stamina, so the post came just in time. Maxime gave her a beautiful ride–it was not really the plan to race that close to the pace, but with her draw near that filly [Marieta] who we knew would go to the front she found herself in a good spot and that was the way it went. When she makes a move, she does quicken very strongly but has a short turn of foot.”

Not a precocious juvenile, Dream and Do was introduced over 7 1/2 furlongs on this venue's round course during the August festival and ran second to the subsequent G3 Prix d'Aumale winner Savarin (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). Going one better over this trip at Marseille-Borely in September, the bay dropped back to seven furlongs for a conditions event at Maisons-Laffitte and followed up as portentously Mageva filled third spot. Returning to the latter circuit later that month for the G3 Prix Miesque over the same trip, she saw off the Listed Criterium du Bequet winner Les Hogues (Ire) (Bated Breath {GB}) to end her juvenile campaign on a high and was just a half-length off Tropbeau in the Grotte as she prepared for this moment.

Stepping forward with the benefit of an outing in that time-honoured trial, Dream and Do had a direct route to success here as Marieta gave way after 6 1/2 furlongs as her trainer Mauricio Delcher-Sanchez had feared she would. Speak of the Devil ran into a blind alley up the stands' rail on the way to unleashing her storming finishing flourish and it is possible that she was unlucky, but the winner was tenacious as she arrived on her right and it may be that her experience gave her the edge in the tussle to the line. She had given her all there and it was clear that Frederic Rossi was right in his assertion that she will not follow where other Pouliches heroines have led by tackling the extra 2 1/2 furlongs of the Diane.

“I have always said that she will not run in the Diane, as she won't stay but I will talk to the owner,” he said. “I don't think it's worth taking a chance, as you can do damage by not running horses at their right distance. It is not certain at this stage where she will go, but I don't think the [G1 Prix] Jean Prat against colts is a good option either. Perhaps it would be better to wait for the [G1 Prix] Rothschild here in August, but we'll also definitely consider the [June 20 G1] Coronation [S. at Royal Ascot]. We will sit down and discuss her future. She doesn't have to take the long trip back to my stables in Marseille, as I have a base in Chantilly and she can stay there for the meantime. Five minutes after the race, she already looked like she hadn't had a hard race at all.”

Maxime Guyon said, “We had a beautiful trip and I think last time in her prep I lost the race because I moved too soon. I might have won that as well, but she was there on the big day and that's what matters.” Fabrice Chappet, trainer of both Speak of the Devil and Mageva, was understandably disappointed. “It's not easy to lose by a nose,” he said. “After running well on their respective seasonal bows, they have shown that they are top-class fillies today. Mageva had a bad draw and had to wait before finishing very well, as did Speak of the Devil who can sometimes be keen. After a waiting race, she found herself a bit too far back from the leaders. She kept running on only to beaten by the smallest of margins. We will take our time to think about their future programs.” Mickael Barzalona, who was unable to bring up a Classic double on Tropbeau, said of the beaten favourite, “I was a bit disappointed with her. We had a good position and she was relaxed, but it didn't happen.”

Dream and Do is the first foal out of Venetias Dream (Ire) (Librettist), who offered little promise that she would turn out the dam of a Classic winner when retired after a moderate career for the Stuart Williams stable. Her best effort came when third in a six-furlong handicap on Wolverhampton's Polytrack in 2012, earning her a meek official rating of just 50 from the BHA. Let go for just 1,000gns at the following year's Tattersalls February Sale, she was up to 80,000gns when purchased by the MAB Agency in what now looks an inspired piece of business at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale three years later. That was due to the exploits in the interim period of a son of Venetias Dream's half-sister L'Enjoleuse (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) named Charm Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

Charm Spirit was one of France's leading milers of recent times, winning the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S., G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp and G1 Prix Jean Prat before embarking on a successful career as a sire. L'Enjoleuse is also the second dam of the Rushaway S. winner Onthewaytonevrland (Ire) (No Nay Never), while Venetias Dream's more notable half-sister Megec Blis (Ire) (Soviet Star) was third in the G3 Athasi S. before producing the dual listed-placed sprinter Kyllang Rock (Ire) (Kyllachy {GB}). Dream and Do's third dam Somfas (What a Pleasure), kin to the Canadian champion and excellent producer Fanfreluche (Northern Dancer), produced four stakes winners including the G2 Mill Reef S.-winning sire Russian Bond (Danzig) and his G2 Temple S.-winning full-brother Snaadee. Also connected to the group 1-winning sire Ransom O'War (Red Ransom), Venetias Dream has a 2-year-old filly by The Gurkha (Ire) who like Dream and Do was offered at Arqana but failed to meet her reserve in October. She also has a yearling colt by Gleneagles (Ire).

Monday, Deauville, France
EMIRATES POULE D'ESSAI DES POULICHES-G1, €360,000, Deauville, 6-1, 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:35.68, gd.
1–DREAM AND DO (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Siyouni (Fr)
1st Dam: Venetias Dream (Ire), by Librettist
2nd Dam: Machaera (GB), by Machiavellian
3rd Dam: Somfas, by What a Pleasure
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (€80,000 RNA Ylg '18 ARAUG). O/B-Haras du Logis Saint Germain (IRE); T-Frederic Rossi; J-Maxime Guyon. €171,420. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0, €254,020. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Speak of the Devil (Fr), 126, f, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Moranda (Fr), by Indian Rocket (GB). (€45,000 Wlg '17 ARQDEC; €62,000 Ylg '18 AROCT). O-Rashit Shaykhutdinov; B-Herve Viallon (FR); T-Fabrice Chappet. €68,580.
3–Mageva (GB), 126, f, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Melilot (Fr), by Elusive City. (€75,000 Ylg '18 ARAUG). O-Hubert Guy, Antoine Gilibert, Gilles Barbarin & Benoit Chalmel; B-EARL Haras Saint-James (GB); T-Fabrice Chappet. €34,290.
Margins: NO, 2, HD. Odds: 7.80, 18.00, 43.00.
Also Ran: Tropbeau (GB), Ellerslie Lace (Fr), My Love's Passion (Fr), Marieta (Fr), Simeen (Fr), Tickle Me Green (Ger), Yomogi (Fr), Desobeissance (Ire), Emoji (Ger). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.