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Siyouma stars in E.P. Taylor

Last updated: 10/14/12 8:21 PM

Siyouma had too much of a kick for Dream Peace (left) and Pagera (right) to contain

(WEG/Michael Burns Photography)

Robert Jeffcock's Siyouma, who brought top-class European form to Sunday's

Grade 1, $1,026,822

E.P.

Taylor Stakes at Woodbine, reigned supreme in the prestigious turf test for

distaffers. Sent off as the 5-2 favorite with Gerald Mosse, the French shipper

kicked clear in the stretch to record her second straight top-level victory,

following the Group 1 Sun Chariot at Newmarket September 29.

Although the E.P. Taylor was a "Win and You're In" event for the Breeders'

Cup Filly & Mare Turf, trainer Francois Doumen politely declined the invitation.

Other targets are beckoning in the Far East, including the Grade 1 Queen

Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup November 11 at Kyoto, and especially the Hong Kong

International Races on December 9 at Sha Tin.

Siyouma pulled early as Mosse tried to cajole her into a stalking trip, and

she took up a spot just off the pace established by Kapitale through fractions

of :25 4/5, :50 2/5, 1:14 4/5 and 1:39 1/5 on the good turf. Dream Peace, a

near-miss third in last year's E.P. Taylor, was biding her time farther back,

but crept into a contending position by the time the field straightened into the

stretch. Pagera, always close in a rail-skimming trip, was another in the hunt.

But Siyouma had also cruised forward, and her sharp change of gear left Dream

Peace and Pagera one-paced. Siyouma drew off by a convincing 1 3/4 lengths,

finishing 1 1/4 miles in 2:03 and furnishing $7.70, $4.80 and $3.30 to her

backers.

"To be honest, I was not worried about the track, the ground and the filly,"

Mosse said. "I was just a bit worried (about the quick turnaround). Two weeks

ago, she was in the UK and we won a Group 1 already. It was a bit short in

timing, but I told the trainer that if he chose to come, it means we are coming

for something solid."

"She's so good and she's so calm," Doumen said. "She has got such a wonderful

temperament that it allows her to travel beautifully well and takes all the

effort away."

Pagera overhauled Dream Peace by a neck to garner runner-up honors in the

all-French exacta.

"We traveled very well," Pagera's rider Olivier Peslier said, "and had plenty

of chance to gain the lead and did very well to be second. I think it's (the

turf) more heavy, which is not for her, but she ran very well."

Kissable

rallied for fourth, followed by the slow-starting Havant, Barefoot Lady, Moment

of Majesty, All Star Heart, Stars to Shine, Princess Highway, Trois Lunes,

Kapitale and the tailed-off Vamo a Galupiar.

Bred by the Aga Khan in Ireland, Siyouma was originally trained by Alain de

Royer-Dupre. The daughter of Medicean made two starts as a three-year-old for

her owner/breeder, and captured a Longchamp maiden last summer in her second

try.

Siyouma was not seen again until the Arqana December Sale, where she was sold

for $294,712. A winner on her debut for Doumen at Compiegne in March, she

finished third to Pagera in a Saint-Cloud conditions race and fourth versus

males in the Le Vase d'Argent at Toulouse.

Taking a step forward in the Group 2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud May 28,

Siyouma was a fine third, beaten less than a length by future Group 1 Prix de

l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Solemia and 2011 Arc runner-up Shareta. Siyouma was

third again to Giofra and Elusive Kate in the Group 1 Falmouth over a mile at

Newmarket July 13, and fifth to the likes of Snow Fairy and Izzi Top in the

Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville August 19. Back at Newmarket in her last

outing, Siyouma turned the tables on Elusive Kate in the Sun Chariot.

Siyouma now sports a 10-4-0-3 mark to go along with $861,535 in earnings. The

half-sister to Group 1 hero Siyouni is out of French stakes victress Sichilla, a

Danehill mare who is in turn a half-sister to multiple highweight and four-time

Group 1 star Slickly. Sichilla and Slickly are also half-siblings to Grade 2

scorer No Slip.

Siyouma's third dam is Grade 1 winner Country Queen, and another prominent

family member is Grade/Group 1 hero Procida.

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