Brought onto the Epsom scene late on when successful in the Prix Greffulhe
(Fr-G2)
at Saint-Cloud May 7, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s POUR MOI (Montjeu
[Ire]) finally provided Andre Fabre with a first success after nine previous
attempts in the Derby S. (Eng-G1). Brought with his familiar
rattle from last to first by the 19-year-old prodigy Mickael Barzalona, the 4-1
second choice grabbed the Ballydoyle outsider Treasure Beach (Galileo
[Ire]) in the shade of the post with his jockey already stood up in the irons
and celebrating. In the end, a head separated the front two, with The Queen’s
5-2 favorite Carlton House (Street Cry [Ire]) three-quarters of a length behind in third,
having run a genuine race after missing the kick and losing a shoe late on.
“He’s a good horse and is the one I wanted to win this race with,” Fabre said
after saddling the first French-trained blue riband winner since Empery in 1976.
“It is not be accident that he has won. I was surprised to see he had two
accelerations, one to catch up and another gear to win. Running a mile and a
half for the first time helped him. It is such a pleasure to win this race with
my young jockey — I couldn’t be happier.
“He gave everything
today and deserves a rest. I will probably give him a summer break and bring him
back for a prep ahead of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe ([Fr-G1] at Longchamp October 2).
All horses improve with time.”
In French racing terms, Andre Fabre is as close to a monarch as it is
possible to be and his achievements are much revered in all circles. While his
Epsom runners have not always captured the imagination in the past, Pour Moi did
just that when putting up a show of dramatic acceleration to come from the tail
of the field in the 10-furlong Prix Greffulhe. Flown over to experience Epsom Downs at the “Breakfast With the
Stars” gathering last Thursday, the bay exhibited his impressive acceleration
once again to the waiting media.
Despite that compelling recent evidence, the
fact remained that very few Derby winners start their careers with an unplaced
effort at Fontainebleau and on his penultimate outing he had ruined his chance
by racing freely and finishing third behind Sunday’s Prix du Jockey-Club
(Fr-G1) contenders Baraan (Dalakhani) and Prairie Star (Peintre Celebre)
in the April 10 Prix la Force (Fr-G3) at Longchamp.
One of the quickest to
break here, he was restrained by Mickael Barzalona and the anchor was down as he
allowed all 12 opponents to pass him by. Carlton House, who was sluggish from
the stalls, had been allowed to find his feet gradually by Ryan Moore, who had a
target on his back as Pour Moi tracked him down the outer after Tattenham
Corner.
The two market-leaders were still well off the main action as Treasure Beach
was sent past his stable companion and pace-setter Memphis Tennessee
(Hurricane Run [Ire]) approaching the final furlong, but neither Moore nor Barzalona were panicking. For a prolonged period, it looked as if The Queen’s
runner would prevail as he began to eat into the leader’s advantage in the final
eighth. Although his work rate was high, the Royal representative could never
quite make it past the eventual runner-up and it was left to the Gallic
challenger to sweep past with his rider adopting an unorthodox pose for the
photo finish.
John Magnier summed up the prevailing underlying sense of
disappointment for the royalists when saying, “I wish that somebody else owned
the third horse, but that’s racing. Andre was confident for the last few weeks
and told us he had more speed than Peintre Celebre — he was telling everyone in
the box to back him.” Michael Tabor added, “It was utopia — sensational. He was
out the back, but he had to be ridden that way and although it was a tall order,
we knew he was very good and it’s not a surprise.”
Carlton House’s troubled lead-up to this race has been well-documented and he
suffered some misfortunes in running also, being pushed wide on the turn for
home and losing a front shoe. Trainer Sir Michael Stoute told PA Sport, “He’s
run very well, but things just haven’t gone right. He had a hold-up close to the
race and during it he got too far back and then had to run wide into the
straight. He’s still a high-class colt and he will have a big day.”
Aidan
O’Brien expressed himself pleased with all his four runners, three of whom made
the first six, while the deputizing rider of Recital (Montjeu [Ire]), Pat Smullen, said, “We
had a lovely run down into the straight, but once we got there he didn’t handle
the camber and kept lying over the top of the fence.”
Kieren Fallon was forced to sit on the sidelines for the Derby after the
Court of Appeal granted an injunction to the owner of Native Khan (Azamour [Ire]). While it was expected on Friday that Fallon would be
able to partner Recital after the High Court judge refused
the request, Ibrahim Araci’s appeal was successful and Pat Smullen was called up
as his replacement on the Ballydoyle contender. Fallon had signed a contract
with Native Khan’s owner Araci which allowed the latter the option of calling on
his services when possible.
“The defendant
voluntarily entered into a contract for substantial reward containing both
positive and negative clauses,” Lord Justice Jackson said. “There is nothing special about the world of
racing that entitles the major players to act in flagrant breach of contract. He
said he would not compete against Native Khan and in my view that should be
invoked and I grant an injunction.
“Some members of the public bet on Native Khan
as they thought that the defendant would be riding the horse. When members of
the public bet on horses they run a multitude of risks. I accept that the risk
of an injunction is rather less than the risk of injury but it is one of the
vicissitudes of life. The defendant brought this on himself with a deliberate
and cynical disregard for the contract he entered in to. He did not improve his
position by producing evidence that must be treated as untruthful.”
“It was a breach of contract and
my client is very happy with the judgment,” Araci’s
acting solicitor Mehmet Ali Erdogan commented. “He believes in the Derby and the
British judgment system and knows they’re bigger than Kieren Fallon.”