West Point Thoroughbreds and Dream With Me Stable's Parnac (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) was sent to the front by Dylan Davis and never looked back against the three rivals in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GII Flower Bowl S. at Saratoga.
The 8-1 shot took the initiative in the 1 3/8-mile journey, led through easy fractions of :25.19 and :51.33 over the firm going, kicked for home as the one to catch and kept on finding to score by 1 1/4 lengths over heavily favored McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}).
Two for two as a juvenile for trainer Andreas Wohler in Germany, Parnac won one of five starts–a first-level allowance over the Aqueduct lawn Oct. 29–on these shores last term.
A narrow optional claiming winner downstate June 11, she entered off a third-place finish in Delaware's GIII Robert G. Dick Memorial S. July 1.
After that race's winner Sopran Basilea (Night of Thunder {Ire}) and runner-up Ever Summer (Summer Front) suffered fatal injuries over the Saratoga turf in their subsequent starts, Parnac was a precautionary scratch by NYRA officials out of an optional claimer at the Spa Aug. 11.
“I guess I have to be thankful to [NYRA President & CEO] David O'Rourke because we had to scratch Parnac from the three-other-than a few weeks ago,” winning trainer Christophe Clement said.
“We decided to run here, and it was the right decision. Sometimes, you have to take a shot. I thought it was a fair race, I'm delighted. Some people might say she stole the race, maybe she did steal the race, but you know what? She stole it in a nice way. She won pretty easily in the end.”
Clement added, “[GI] E.P. Taylor [Oct. 8 at Woodbine], Breeders' Cup, Long Island [at Aqueduct Racetrack]; we have a quite a few choices. Let's enjoy this for a few days.”
Pedigree Notes:
Parnac is the first U.S. stakes winner for the Aga Khan's Studs- based Zarak, a son of Dubawi (Ire) and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Prix de Diane heroine Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar).
She becomes the 10th graded/group winner worldwide for her sire. The winner's group-placed dam's most recent produce is the 2-year-old gelding Kingdom of Stars (Fr) (Cloth of Stars {Ire}), who is unraced in France.
PARNAC goes wire-to-wire under @DavisJockey in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl Stakes for @clementstable! #Saratoga pic.twitter.com/K6vFwoFoEt
— NYRA (🎪) (@TheNYRA) September 2, 2023
Saturday, Saratoga
FLOWER BOWL S.-GII, $465,000, Saratoga, 9-2, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 3/8mT, 2:18.60, fm.
1–PARNAC (FR), 118, f, 4, by Zarak (Fr)
1st Dam: Passing Burg (Fr) (GSP-Fr), by Sageburg (Ire)
2nd Dam: Passing Lady (Fr), by Anabaa
3rd Dam: Lune de Mai (GB), by Kenmare (Fr)
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-West Point Thoroughbreds and Dream With Me Stable; B-Jean-Pierre Dubois (FR); T-Christophe Clement; J-Dylan Davis. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 11-5-1-1, $467,517. Werk Nick Rating: D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–McKulick (GB), 122, f, 4, Frankel (GB)–Astrelle (Ire), by Makfi (GB). (180,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Essafinaat UK Ltd (GB); T-Chad C. Brown. $100,000.
3–Amazing Grace (Ger), 120, m, 5, Protectionist (Ger)–Amabelle (Ger), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). (€850,000 4yo '22 ARQDEC). O-Moyglare Stud Farm, Ltd.; B-Chr. Berglar (GER); T-Christophe Clement. $60,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NK, 1. Odds: 8.20, 0.40, 2.30.
Also Ran: Tamarama (GB).
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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