By Sean Cronin
Normandel backed up an Aug. 19 debut score at Clairefontaine with a second in Chantilly's Sept. 8 G3 Prix d'Aumale, but was off the board in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac back there Oct. 2 and again in Maisons-Laffitte's G3 Prix Imprudence on seasonal bow Apr. 10, and lined up for this task coming off a May 10 conditions fifth back at Chantilly once more May 10. Stalking a sedate pace in second until inching closer on the home turn, she was sent wide at the top of the straight and kept on well under mild urging in the closing stages to assert superiority for a career high. “We thought she had good quality after her win at Clairefontaine last year, but we hadn't really figured out the best way to ride her,” revealed trainer Pia Brandt. “After today's race, I think we now know what to do with her. Like her [half-] brother [and former stablemate] Mont Ormel, she won on debut at Clairefontaine and he also won on this card [in the Listed Prix Ridgway] last year. We'll follow a similar pattern and now go for a 12-furlong race and, for her, it will be the [July 2 G2] Prix de Malleret [at Saint-Cloud].”
PRIX MELISANDE-Listed, €55,000, CMP, 6-12, 3yo, f, 10fT, 2:11.10, g/s.
1–#NORMANDEL (FR), 123, f, 3, by Le Havre (Ire)
1st Dam: Lidana (Ire), by King's Best
2nd Dam: Lidakiya (Ire), by Kahyasi (Ire)
3rd Dam: Lilissa (Ire), by Doyoun (Ire)
O-Gerard Augustin-Normand; B-Franklin Finance SA (FR); T-Pia Brandt; J-Cristian Demuro. €27,500. Lifetime Record: GSP-Fr, 6-2-1-0, €57,925. *1/2 to Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}) (races as Helene Charisma {Fr} in Hong Kong), Hwt. 3yo-Fr at 11-14f, G1SW-Fr & GSP-HK, $698,288.
2–Ibiza (Fr), 123, f, 3, Redoute's Choice (Aus)–Olga Prekrasa, by Kingmambo. (€100,000 RNA Ylg '15 AROCT). O-Viktor Timoshenko & Andriy Milovanov. €11,000.
3–Hebah (Ire), 123, f, 3, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Lia (Ire), by Desert King (Ire). (170,000gns Wlg '14 TATFOA). O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. €8,750.
Margins: 1 3/4, HD, SNK. Odds: 18.40, 14.90, 0.60.
Also Ran: Golden Legend (Fr), Terre (Fr), Baltic Duchess (Ire).
Normandel is a half-sister to last year's G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris-winning French highweight Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}) (races as Helene Charisma (Fr) in Hong Kong) Hwt. 3yo-Fr at 11-14f, G1SW-Fr & GSP-HK, $698,288; and to the hitherto untried 2-year-old filly Hocquigny (Fr) (Rajsaman {Fr}). They were produced by a winning half-sister to MG1SW highweight Linngari (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), who in turn is out of a winning half to MSW G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup runner-up Livadiya (Ire) (Shernazar {Ire}). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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