CLASSIC impact

This year’s crop of leading three-year-olds looks a smart set, writes Jocelyn de Moubray.

CLASSIC races at Epsom and Chantilly became recognised as such because they constituted a unique and searching test for three-yearold thoroughbreds, while at the same time providing an enthralling spectacle.

Of course, the years of running add to the interest by providing perspective to judge different generations, to be a focus for those who enjoy watching and betting on racing, and an efficient way of selecting elite stallions of the future.

The Derby at Epsom and the JockeyClub at Chantilly have both been through periods when one or the other of those purposes, and sometimes both, have looked in danger of disappearing and the races seemed sure to dwindle into irrelevance.

At the end of the 20th century there was a run of ordinary Epsom winners none of whom made any mark as a stallion, and moving the race from its traditional Wednesday transformed the nature of the spectacle and the composition of the crowd on the Epsom downs.

The 1m4f Jockey-Club produced the odd exceptional winner but only rarely was it a competitive race and it was becoming an event of limited international or domestic significance.

With hindsight it is clear that Galileo’s win at Epsom in 2001, the first for trainer Aidan O’Brien, gave Epsom’s race a chance to regain its status, while the decision to change the distance of the Jockey-Club to 2100 metres in 2005 has transformed the race’s standing and significance. The status of both races has yet to be fully secured, but Auguste Rodin and Ace Impact’s victories were not only fabulous spectacles but the manner in which they both came through their Classic test suggest they will be well supported the day they retire to stud.

For the second consecutive year the Derby and the Jockey-Club fulfilled their purpose which has to be something to celebrate.

After Auguste Rodin had managed to finish only 12th of the 14 runners in the 2.000 Guineas, 22l behind the winner Chaldean, it seemed unlikely the son of Deep Impact would even run in the Derby and yet at the same time there was no other obvious contender to take over his place as favourite.

A cold and wet spring in Northern Europe meant that the Classic trials were more difficult to read than usual, and when it finally stopped raining and the Dante Stakes at York was run on good to firm ground the race produced a bunch finish with five colts, headed by The Foxes, finishing within 2l of each other.

On the day itself there was plenty of confidence behind the O’Brien-trained Auguste Rodin and he started second favourite only just behind Juddmonte’s Frankel colt Arrest, ridden by Frankie Dettori, who had won the Chester Vase on heavy ground, and Military Order, Godolphin’s full-brother to the Derby winner Adayar, who had won the Lingfield Derby Trial transferred to the All-Weather track after heavy rain.

The middle-distance Classic races at Epsom and Chantilly would be a severe test for three-year-olds even if they were run on a flat, straightforward racecourse.

At this time of year three-year-olds are developing fast; if you take the official weight-for-age table the average threeyear-old improves 9lb between May and July when racing over 1m2f, and the best of them can make spectacular progress in the space of a few weeks.

Enable, for instance, went from a Racing Post Rating of 111 at Chester on May 10 to 123 at Epsom three weeks later.

The nature of the track at Epsom tends to exaggerate the difference between good horses and very good ones, and thee preparation required and the test itself often means that the middle-distance Classic races are the peak of a horse’s career rather than a stepping stone on to other better performances.

August Rodin (below): a sixth European Classic winner for stallion Deep Impact. The Japanese sire is behind only Northern Dancer and Kingmambo (on seven) as Classic-producing stallions who did not ever stand in Europe, above, Aidan O’Brien congratulated by MV Magnier

At this stage there is no way of knowing whether or not Auguste Rodin or the Derby runner-up King of Steel will continue to improve and perform at the highest level, what is clear, however, is that they both put up by far the best performances of their career to date, and one which compares with the best Derby performances of recent years.

During the race this pair were the only two who ever looked to have a winning chance.

Auguste Rodin’s stable companions Adelaide River and San Antonio made the early running, while Ryan Moore kept Auguste Rodin towards the rear away from the rails to be sure of having a clear run in the straight. With 2f to run, when the course begins its climb towards the winning post after the long run down Tattenham Hill, jockey Kevin Stott sent King Of Steel to make his challenge. To the surprise of most of those watching you would imagine – the son of Wootton Bassett, a 66-1 shot, is a giant standing 1m73 and far from the type normally considered suitable for the undulations of Epsom and who was making only his third career start.

He raced away from his rivals into a clear lead.

Moore, watching from behind and perhaps concerned for a moment, sent Auguste Rodin in pursuit. The son of Deep Impact accelerated, but the leader was not stopping and it was only close to the post that the O’Brien colt was on top, winning in the end by a half length with four and threequarters of a lengths back to the remainder headed by the Irish trial winners White Birch and Sprewell with the non-staying The Foxes back in fifth.

Simon Rowlands of Attheraces has calculated that the only horses to have run the Derby straight in a faster time than Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel are Nijinsky and Galileo, two great Derby winners in more than 50 renewals on every type of ground.

Soul Sister

AUGUSTE RODIN gave his trainer a record ninth winner of the race but more than this achievement the colt’s looks and pedigree made this a special moment for all those involved and many of those watching.

By Deep Impact, a stallion whose progeny have dominated the strongest middledistance racing programme, out of a Galileo mare Rhododendron who was an exceptional racemare, Auguste Rodin has a lot going for him as a future stallion.

His fourth dam Rahaam, bred by Calumet Farm, was by the Epsom Derby winner Secreto and out of a mare from the family of the Florida Derby winner Royal And Regal. Her best product was the top sprinter Cassandra Go, who was purchased as a yearling by Trevor Stewart. Cassandra Go’s best product, the Group 1-winning Pivotal mare Halfway To Heaven, was bought by the Coolmore partners as a yearling and she in turn produced Rhododendron who raced 19 times at two, three and four, winning a Group 2 at two, finishing second to Enable in the Oaks and, after pulling up in the Diane, coming back to win the Opera at the end of the year and the Lockinge as a four-year-old.

Auguste Rodin is her first foal and as his trainer recounted after the race he has always been considered by Coolmore’s experts to be an outstanding physical individual – not only does he have the head and look of his grandsire Sunday Silence, but as O’Brien put it his measurements and balance have always been among the very best.

Another very special aspect of Auguste Rodin’s record is that before being an outstanding Derby winner he was a top class two-year-old, he made his debut in June and went on to win a Group 1 over a mile.

Of the principals in this year’s middle-distance Classic races he is the only one who ran in a Group race as a two-year-old before the end of the season.

The Oaks winner Soul Sister ran once at two winning a maiden in October, her runner-up Savethelastdance was unplaced on her only juvenile start, while of the first four in the Jockey-Club the only two-yearold winner was Marhaba Ya Sanafi, who won an All-Weather maiden at the end of November. King Of Steel and White Birch each made two starts at two winning a maiden in October and finishing unplaced on their other starts.

Two-year-old racing now has very little relevance to the middle-distance Classic races run in June.

The rest of the word has slowly but surely become aware of the excellence of Japanese breeding.

Deep Impact, who produced Auguste Rodin in his last and 13th crop, has sired six English or French Classic winners, and among those stallions who never stood in Europe only Northern Dancer and Kingmambo (on seven apiece) have a better record.

During the decades at the end of the 20th century any breeder who hoped to compete with the best in Europe had to go to America to buy from the best breeding programme in the world to upgrade their stock. Today just as naturally the leading breeders will go and buy in Japan.

Japanese breeding has already moved on from Deep Impact and, while he remains the country’s leading broodmare sire, he does not appear in the pedigree of the nation’s current top five young stallions – Duramente, Lord Kanaola, Maurice, Kitasan Black and Satono Crown.

Of these five only Kitasan Black, who is by Deep Impact’s brother Black Tide, is from the Sunday Silence line and while Kingmambo’s stallion sons disappointed in Europe three of Japan’s best are grandsons of Kingmambo – Lord Kanaola, Duramente and Rulership are all sons of King Kamehameha.

What has not changed is the type of stallion who succeeds in Japan. All of these horses are Group 1 winners in a system were the number of Group 1s is and always has been limited. There are 25 Group 1s in Japan and 16,000 races so 0.15 per cent, while in Europe there are 84 Group 1s and 14,000 races so more than four times more at 0.62 per cent of all races.

All three also raced through several seasons and, with the exception of Duramente who made only nine starts, they all raced at least 12 times.

In contrast to England and Ireland the French Classic generation of 2023 has looked to be particularly strong and right from the beginning of the year.

At the time of writing there have been 40 Group and Listed races in France for threeyear-olds over more than 6f and, despite many runners from England, Ireland and Germany, there have been only two winners who were not trained in France, Aidan O’Brien’s Greenland and Archie Watson’s Brave Emperor.

Chaldean

Jean-Claude Rouget

This may simply be a coincidence or a chance event, but there is also something else going on as the way in which the better races in France are run has been transformed.

Christopher Head, the trainer of at least two of the best members of the French Classic generation in Poule d’Essai des Pouliches winner Blue Rose Cen and JockeyClub runner up Big Rock, has played a significant part in this transformation.

With his stable jockey Aurelian Lemaitre, Head’s runners more often than not set out to make the running, which by French standards, is often at a strong pace.

At the same time, and there is no way of knowing whether this has been a reaction or another coincidence, both André Fabre and Jean-Claude Rouget seem to have changed long-standing habits and their horses, too, are often seen in the lead setting a good pace.

Fabre and his stable have been helped by the arrival of new stable jockey Bauyrahan Murzabayev and in his 78th year Fabre has a new spring in his step. Murzabayev may have not convinced every French observer and trainer as yet but his patron seems to be enjoying this new partnership.

The principle French-trained contenders went into the Jockey-Club with a near perfect record.

Mawj

Tahiyra

Ace Impact had made his debut at Cagnes in January and had won all three of his starts very comfortably for Rouget and owner Serge Stempniak.

The Head-trained Big Rock had won all four starts for the stable from the front without being extended, while the Pascal Bary-trained Feed The Flame had won both his starts with ridiculous ease. The Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi had only ever been beaten by the top soft ground performer American Flag on heavy ground, since making his debut for trainer Andreas Schutz.

Only two foreign-trained horses travelled to Chantilly – the John and Thady Gosden trained Epictetus, who had finished second to Auguste Rodin in the Group 1 at two, and the O’Brien-trained Continuous.

Paddington

As everyone was expecting Big Rock and Lemaitre set off in front at a very fast pace, not quite as fast as the pace Lemaitre had set on Motamarris in Sottsass’ Jockey-Club in 2019 but faster than any other Jockey-Club since Shamardal made all the running to win the first over 2100 in 2005.

Christian Demuro riding Ace Impact was no doubt expecting the race to turn out in this manner and he settled Ace Impact in last place. Big Rock’s relentless galloping proved as effective on Chantilly’s good to firm ground as it had been earlier in the year on the All-Weather and on very soft ground, and by the time he had climbed the hill past the chateau and set off up the straight, most of his rivals were already well beaten.

Continuous and Epictetus were among those who had been close to the early pace and with 400m to run Big Rock had already shaken off their challenges.

Just when it looked as though Big Rock was going to come clear Demuro and Ace Impact started to make their run from the rear.

Feed The Flame and Marhaba Ya Sanafi tried to go with them, but while they made some ground on the leader Ace Impact and Demuro soon left them behind.

Ace Impact ran the last 400m in 22.58sec, and only Sottsass has previously broken 24.00sec for the final part of the Jockey-Club in recent years.

This run took Ace Impact into a clear lead and the son of Cracksman won by three and a half lengths from the gallant Big Rock. It was another two and a half lengths back to Marhaba Ya Sanafi in third with the inexperienced Feed The Flame close behind in fourth.

Ace Impact ran the final 400m three per cent faster than his race average time, something only Almanzor achieved among recent Jockey-Clubs, all the other recent winners had matched their race average, or gone slower.

As trainers have come to adapt to the new Jockey-Club the race has become a strong test of stamina despite being run over 300m less than the old Jockey-Club. Three of the last five Jockey-Clubs have been run in 2m4s or faster, where none of the first 14 were run faster than the 2m5.58s of The Grey Gatsby, a time slower by about 15l than Ace Impact’s new record.

Ace Impact is the unbeaten winner of the Jockey-Club in a race record time, and as he has a pedigree that suggests he could be better over 1m4f, he is going to be a strong French favourite for the Arc de Triomphe.

His breeder Waltraut Spanner bought his dam, the Anabaa Blue mare Absolutly Me, for just €16,000 as a yearling at Osarus. She had already produced two black-type horses, including Allesandro, a son of Australia who had looked for a time as though he would develop into a top horse for Rouget as a three-year-old in 2021.

This may have been why Rouget bought Ace Impact on behalf of Serge Stempinak for €75,000 at the 2021 Deauville August sale.

Absolutly Me comes from a family first developed by Lord Derby, which includes

Ouija Board, as well as the top-class middle-distance horses Ibn Bey and Roseate Tern.

Ace Impact is a Group 1 winner from the first crop of Cracksman and clearly benefited from the Rouget preparation for middle-distance Classic races.

He didn’t race at two and improved by something like 15lb between his final prep race and the day of the Jockey-Club, something which Rouget’s best colts have been doing frequently in recent years as the Deauville-based trainer has now won five of the last eight Jockey-Clubs.

There was a lot of talk last year about how remarkable it was that a horse like Cracksman, who was a top class middledistance performer should produce so many two-year-olds winners, but it is worth pointing out a year later that of Cracksman’s best progeny, the Rouget-trained colts Ace Impact and Silver Crack, and his stakeswinning fillies Cracksmania and Weracruz, only Weracruz ran at two and she won her only start in November.

If there is a negative to this year’s middle-distance Classic races it is that they still seem to be reserved for a certain elite in the bloodstock world.

Three trainers have dominated recent runnings – O’Brien, Rouget and the Gosdens have won nine of the last ten Oaks, six of the last ten Derbys and seven of the last ten Jockey-Clubs.

If Rouget put his mind to winning the Oaks or the Derby the trio’s dominance could well be overwhelming but, for the time being, he and his team are resolutely focused on winning French Classic races and don’t even think about 1m4f races until Chantilly’s Classics are run.

Of Rouget’s many achievements one of the most remarkable is to have bought two of the best Classic winners of recent years Almanzor and Ace Impact for €100,000 and €75,000, just above and just below the median price at the Arqana August Sale of their years.

Chaldean