It was a double-Derby weekend with the UK and French Classics on Saturday and Sunday. We look back at the eye-catchers you may have missed whilst enjoying Group 1 action at Epsom Downs and Chantilly…
It was a double-Derby weekend with the UK and French Classics on Saturday and Sunday. We look back at the eye-catchers you may have missed whilst enjoying Group 1 action at Epsom Downs and Chantilly.
Torito
John and Thady's Torito may have been overshadowed by a certain Auguste Rodin at Epsom Downs on Saturday but his victory in the 1m2f Class 2 Betfred Lester Piggott Handicap suggested a future Black Type performer. The Kingman colt was a useful third at Newbury on his sole start as a juvenile and started a short-priced favourite when winning a three-runner Nottingham contest on seasonal reappearance. He was a fair second behind Artistic Star at Sandown Park and the winner produced a solid performance to finish seventh in the Group 1 Epsom Derby on the same card.
Ridden by Benoit De La Sayette, Torito travelled strongly throughout the 1m2f contest, and the result never looked in doubt, despite the colt hanging left as he was asked to take the lead one furlong out. He won by two-and-three-quarter lengths and the performance suggested a step up in class is a likely next option. He's a half-brother to four Black Type performers (three of which were trained by the Gosden stable) and holds no current entries.
Carla's Way
With all eyes on Epsom Downs, Carla's Way may have flown under the radar with her emphatic two-and-a-quarter length victory in the 6½f British EBF Ruby Jubilee Maiden Fillies' Stakes at Doncaster. Simon and Ed Crisford's filly took keen hold under Jack Mitchell in the opening stages and was allowed to take the lead one furlong out. She wavered a bit when hitting the front but kept on well in the end to beat Charlie Appleby's Star of Mystery.
Out of a two-time winner Sulaalaat (New Approach), Carla's Way's victory marks a first success for the dam. Carla's Way was bought for £350,000 at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale after being withdrawn from Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and looks an obvious candidate for the juvenile races at Royal Ascot.
Simca Mille
Although an eye-catchers column may not be the appropriate place to flag a Group 2 winner, it is possible that readers may have dismissed the impressive three-and-a-half length success of Simca Mille in the 1m4f Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly. Trained by Stephane Wattel, the four-year-old colt was foot perfect in the Chantilly contest, taking up the lead from two furlongs out and pulling clear to win. The ease of his victory suggested the winning distance could have been doubled and the second-placed horse Kertez is a fairly good yard-stick having consistently placed in Group company on his last four outings.
Simca Mille boasts an impressive record in Stakes company with four victories and two placings from seven attempts. In his thirteen-race career, the Tamayuz colt has only finished out of the top two twice (on debut behind Erevann and in the Group 1 Japan Cup) and has placed second in Group 1 company twice. It seems only a matter of time before this striking chestnut colt breaks through for a Group 1 success in France but he also holds an entry for the Group 1 Prince Of Wales' Stakes at Royal Ascot, where he could be a lively outsider at 25/1.
