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Epicuris tastes sweet success in Criterium de Saint-Cloud Making all on his racecourse bow going a mile at Longchamp at the start of September and in the Group 3 Prix de Conde at nine furlongs back there on October 19, Khalid Abdullah's Epicuris proved again that he is a hard horse to keep tabs on when justifying 9-10 favoritism in Saturday's Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Sizeable and blessed with a generous stride, the Rail Link homebred had dominated the Conde after being left to his own devices in front and was again allowed a pressure-free lead under Thierry Thulliez on Saturday with the re-opposing runner-up from that contest, Big Blue, keeping closer attendance this time. No drama threatened until the field straightened for home, where the sextet fanned out as usual in search for a quicker strip of turf. Thulliez kept the Epicuris three-wide from the hedge on the stand's side and his mount was given some light flicks to secure the comfortable 2 1/2-length success from German raider Palang, who edged out Big Blue by a head for third. "This is a lovely colt who hasn't stopped improving from race to race," trainer Criquette Head-Maarek said. "He showed he can handle much softer conditions here also, which is the sign of a good horse. He likes to use his stride and settles very well in front. "We'll put him away for the year now and we hope we have a nice prospect for either the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club or Group 1 Epsom Derby." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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