Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp |
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| Group 1, ParisLongchamp 16:25 £312,500 guaranteed, 2yo plus, Class 1, 4f 213y  |
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Trainer George Boughey is not backing down from a third showdown with Bradsell this season after his star filly, Believing, once again finished second to Archie Watson’s standout at the Curragh on September 15.
Three wins from three in 2024 for the impressive Bradsell, who travelled sweetly in the hands of @HollieDoyle1 and wasn't to be denied, handing the @BarOneRacing Flying Five Stakes to the @Archie_Watson team 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UFQlkHP4om
— The Curragh Racecourse (@curraghrace) September 15, 2024
Believing has had an outstanding season for Boughey and owners Highclere Thoroughbred Racing. She claimed victories in the Achilles Stakes at Haydock and the Sapphire Stakes in Ireland, along with several impressive performances in defeat, including two fourth-place finishes at Royal Ascot.
The four-year-old finished second to Bradsell in the Nunthorpe at York last month and repeated that result in Sunday’s Flying Five Stakes, making her trainer extremely proud.
“What a season she’s had,” Boughey remarked. “It’s been 51 weeks since she was supplemented for the Haydock Sprint Cup and finished third as a 66-1 outsider. Her progress in such a short time is a huge credit to her and Holly, who rides her every day.
“She requires a lot of micro-managing, and maintaining her busy and consistent schedule is a testament to how well these guys care for the horses. I was really excited walking onto the track with her on Sunday, seeing how she looked and how she was bouncing around at the top of her game.
“It will be interesting to see how she recovers from Sunday’s race. I was thrilled to hear from Ryan Moore on Sunday night that he felt she was better than ever.”
Believing was drawn on the opposite side of the track to Bradsell at both York and the Curragh, and there’s a good chance they could face off again in either the Prix de l’Abbaye at ParisLongchamp or the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.
Boughey added, “She’ll have a bit of a break, and we’ll decide on our next steps. The Abbaye and the Breeders’ Cup are her two entries. She won’t get her preferred ground on Champions Day at Ascot, so we didn’t enter her there.
“I’m sure she’ll race again this year, whether it’s once or twice, we’ll see. The draw is something you can’t control, and luck has favored Bradsell for most of this season. The last three five-furlong Group Ones of the year—the Flying Five, the Abbaye, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint—are all on tracks with significant draw biases. Hopefully, we’ll get lucky one day.
Rogue Lightning was acquired by Wathnan Racing for £1 million at the end of last season, following a fifth-place finish in the same French sprint at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting a year ago. Despite being beaten by only a length and a quarter from a wide draw, the gelding will compete again after running over the same course and distance last time out.
In his recent performance in the Prix du Petit Couvert, a five-furlong Group Three race, he finished third, just a short head behind on soft ground. Conditions are expected to be challenging when he returns to Paris for the Abbaye, and trainer Tom Clover is hopeful that a change in headgear will benefit the horse.
“It’s very much the plan to go to France for the Abbaye; he ran well in the race last year from a difficult draw,” said Clover. “He ran a really gallant race last time out, just beaten by a head in the Group Three. We’re going to switch to straight blinkers as he’s performed well in them at home. We’re hoping for a good draw and that he’ll shape up well. It’s a deep race, but he looks in good form at home and deserves to run. According to their going report, it’s expected to be French soft ground on Sunday, which is equivalent to English good to soft, so that should be fine.”
Prix De L'Abbaye De Longchamp (Group 1)
£312,500 guaranteed, 2yo plus, 5f, Class 1
16 runners
Going: Soft
NO. (DRAW) FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 (7) 942450 Batwan 9 9-11 N Caullery Stephane Pasquier
2 (13) 0-1790 Moss Tucker 6 9-11 K J Condon W J Lee
3 (4) -14065 Washington Heights 4 9-11 Kevin Ryan Tom Eaves
4 (2) 618163 Starlust 3 9-11 Ralph Beckett Rossa Ryan
5 (3) 851554 Kerdos 4 9-11 Clive Cox Richard Kingscote
6 (1) 154334 Grand Grey 3 9-11 Gianluca Bietolini Cristian Demuro
7 (6) 611306 Desperate Hero 4 9-11 Jack Channon Callum Rodriguez
8 (15) 30-710 Aesop's Fables 4 9-11 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore
9 (9) 37-111 Bradsell 4 9-11 Archie Watson Hollie Doyle
10 (14) -60273 Rogue Lightning 4 9-11 Tom Clover James Doyle
11 (8) 271373 Makarova 5 9-7 Ed Walker Tom Marquand
12 (16) 232135 Mgheera 4 9-7 Mme Manon Scandella-Lacaille Guillaume Millet
13 (12) 531161 No Half Measures 3 9-7 Richard Hughes Oisin Murphy
14 (5) 441322 Believing 4 9-7 George Boughey Billy Loughnane
15 (11) 2252 La Bellota 2 8-7 John Ryan Darragh Keenan
16 (10) 102144 Englemere 2 8-4 George Boughey Luke Morris
