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Style Vendome, Flotilla star in French Guineas Described by Nicolas Clement as the "perfect racehorse" and better than his best milers of recent times, Style Vendome lived up to the trainer's expectations Sunday with a hard-fought success in a typically pulsating outcome to Longchamp's Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains. Having taken a key prep in Maisons-Laffitte's Prix Djebel over seven furlongs last time April 4, Andre de Ganay's gray had a low beneficial draw and was able to enjoy a dream trip round the rail behind the leading quartet under Thierry Thulliez. Working his way to the front with 150 yards remaining, the third favorite who paid almost 6-1 on the tote, grittily held his own as the inevitable closers arrived on the scene, headed by the neck runner-up Dastarhon and the eye-catching third Intello. "I am delighted, as this is my first classic after a wait of 25 years training and you can imagine how happy I am," Clement said. "The owners have been with me all the way and it is a dream now that it is done." Starting out in the listed Prix Yacowlef at Deauville in June, Style Vendome ran second to the subsequent group scorer Pearl Flute in that five-furlong anomaly for debutantes before getting his winning streak underway over slightly further at Dieppe the following month. Despite a solid effort on his first attempt at black-type in the Prix Francois Boutin over seven back at Deauville in August, that win was essentially gifted to him after the saddle slipped on the certain winner Havana Gold near the line and he was not seen again in 2012. Reappearing in the Prix Montenica over 6 1/2 furlongs on the Polytrack at Chantilly March 14, he followed a smooth success there with an equally fluent career-best in the Djebel and his straightforward trajectory continued when handed an ideal post in three for this contest, which is often decided on the Friday when the draw is made. Able to draft and save ground while the placed horses were forced to put in extra effort to join the early chase, Style Vendome wasted little precious energy before being eased off the fence at the end of the final turn. As he had his first clear shot at the lead in midstretch, Dastarhon was looking for room in behind and Intello was being driven by Maxime Guyon to extricate himself from the rear and deliver a wide rally. It was the winner's old rival Havana Gold who posed the more immediate threat, as he arrived on the front end from a seemingly impossible early position, but his effort was short-lived and Style Vendome's more conventional passage proved crucial. Asserting close home, he was safely clear of the type of blanket that is often seen in this classic. "He's a really nice horse and happily, I made the right decision to run here rather than Newmarket," Clement added of the winner. "His record is perfect apart from his first run and he had a good draw and a good run through the race. It is definitely now either the Prix du Jockey Club (at Chantilly June 2) or St James's Palace Stakes (at Royal Ascot June 18)." Dastarhon's trainer Pia Brandt was understandably delighted with the advertising of her small yard by the runner-up. "I couldn't be more happy," she said. "He is still lightly raced and he proved his quality today. The jockey told me that halfway down the straight, he had the choice to go inside or out and he thinks if he had gone out he might have won. I'm happy enough anyway and hopefully now he will run in the Prix Jean Prat (at Chantilly June 30)." The wide-drawn Intello produced a finishing burst from five lengths in arrears to grab third, marking him as a colt with considerable prowess. He is now likely heading to the Prix du Jockey Club after his commendable run. "That was a horrific race," the Wertheimers' Racing Manager Pierre-Yves Bureau said. "He had a bad draw, a bad trip, lost a shoe and was struck into behind, but still managed to finish very nicely. We'll see how he is, but if he is well I would imagine it will be the Prix du Jockey Club." Unlike that previously unbeaten performer, the 4-1 favorite Olympic Glory never looked like making his presence felt at any stage from his unfavorable post position and his labors through the race resulted in a disappointing 11th placing. "I was never traveling and always struggling going downhill on the fast ground," jockey Richard Hughes said of Olympic Glory. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Thani's Flotilla returned for the first time since her barnstorming success in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita in November, and re-established her presence in style when winning the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at inflated odds of 13-1. Settled in midpack early by Christophe-Patrice Lemaire, the imposing bay tracked the 9-5 favorite Esoterique throughout and, after allowing her first run on the front end inside the final 1 1/2 furlongs, wore her down in the final strides for a neck verdict. "She proved she is a top-class filly to win this first time up and showed an amazing turn of foot," trainer Mikel Delzangles commented. Few would have expected that they were seeing a future Breeders' Cup and Classic winner when attending the races at Clairefontaine July 30, but they had not banked on the untapped ability that seven-furlong conditions scorer Flotilla had in store. Getting going too late when subsequently fifth on her black-type introduction in the Prix d'Aumale over this trip at Chantilly in September, she took a major step forward when fourth after being holed up at a crucial point of the Prix Marcel Boussac over this course and distance on Arc Day. Bursting onto the international stage in the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita the following month, she faced a tough task coming straight to this competitive renewal, even if it did look below-par in substance beforehand. Despite her favorable draw, the bay was reserved early by Lemaire and lost vital ground as the rush to gain prominence began. As the race unfolded, it became evident that her skilled rider had chosen the perfect rival to stalk, as Esoterique glided through the pack just ahead. Allowing that previously unbeaten filly to take her into the fresh air, she surrendered a two-length advantage to the Rothschild homebred as she took the baton from her stable companion Tasaday approaching the furlong pole. Esoterique refused to give up her lead easily, but there was a sense of the inevitable as soon as Flotilla found her top stride and she was ultimately a cozy winner at the line. "She had been slow to come to hand after the winter and there is always a doubt as to whether they are really fit or not," commented Delzangles, whose What a Name had proven a notable flop in the One Thousand Guineas a week previously. "We will have to make the decision now whether to step up in trip and go for the Prix de Diane (at Chantilly June 16) or stay at a mile for the Coronation Stakes (at Royal Ascot June 21)." The latter race is where runner-up Esoterique is headed, according to owner-breeder Baron Edouard de Rothschild. "She has justified the decision to supplement and we are very happy, as this run was very close after her last one," he explained. "Maybe she idled a bit in front, but she has run very well. She will go to Royal Ascot for the Coronation now." Also at Longchamp Sunday, Tableaux handed the Andre Fabre stable a record seventh win in the Group 2 Prix Hocquart. Having finished fourth behind his talented stable companion Intello on debut over a mile at this track in September, the chestnut was second over that trip at Saint-Cloud in October before filling third spot on his seasonal bow behind another smart colt in the Niarchos family's subsequent Prix Greffulhe runner-up Bravodino in a conditions event over 1 5/16 miles back there April 3. Tableaux broke his maiden in the Prix Noailles over 1 5/16 miles here April 22, and returned to continue Fabre's mastery of these middle-distance preps. Keen initially before taking a lead from Park Reel, Tableaux stayed prominent, which paid off as nothing proved able to make up ground in another falsely run race. Prizing a narrow advantage off the long-time leader with 300 meters remaining, he kept finding as that rival rallied against the rail and Ballydoyle's Festive Cheer threatened wide and, despite being briefly headed again by Park Reel near the line, prevailed in the bobber. Tableaux's win follows an almost unprecedented purple patch in the classic trials for his stable, contributing this trophy and that of the Noailles to a tally that now includes the Prix Francois Mathet and Prix Greffulhe (with Ocovango), as well as the Prix la Force (Triple Threat) and Feilden Stakes (Intello). Catcall broke through at the Group 3 level in the Prix de Saint-Georges elsewhere on the card. Unraced as a juvenile, Catcall spent last term plying his trade at provincial tracks, registering wins at Dax and Toulouse. He opened this semester with a runner-up finish at the latter February 7, repeated the dose at Cagnes-sur-Mer February 23 and acquired black type at the first time of asking when winning the Prix Cor de Chasse at Fontainebleau last time March 29. Held up as Stepper Point showed the way down the center of the track, he was still going well at the two-furlong marker and closed with a strong run when asked to pick off British raider Move in Time 50 yards from the post. "He is a horse I have always liked, but we took time to find out his best trip and since we started running him over shorter, he has got better each time," trainer Philippe Sogorb explained. "Five is ideal for him and there is room for improvement. I'm not sure whether he will run in the Prix du Gros-Chene (at Chantilly June 2), as he may not take two races in quick succession and so we might pass on that. He will be supplemented for the King's Stand Stakes (at Royal Ascot June 18)." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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