Facteur Cheval (Ire)

Leaving his G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. rivals strung out down Ascot's straight mile, Yeguada Centurion's Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}--Hardiyna {Ire}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) produced a masterclass from the front under Aurelien Lemaitre in one of the great displays throughout the history of this prestigious affair. Quickly out on his own, the Christopher Head-trained 3-year-old who had not won since looking a force in the mud in the G3 Prix la Force and G3 Prix de Guiche this spring was always way beyond the reaches...

Group 3 winner Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) will likely start next in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. on British Champions S. Day at Ascot if the anticipated wet weather holds, Team Valor's Barry Irwin said Sunday. The 4-year-old gelding was most recently third behind Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Prix Du Moulin de Longchamp on Sept. 3. "It's the plan and he could run on any type of surface, but he's better with some give in the ground and the wetter the better, like when he...

Placed in three group 1s including the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches prior to Sunday's G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, Jean-Pierre-Joseph Dubois's hard-working homebred Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}--Salicorne, by Aragorn) had her day in the sun under Tony Piccone as she conquered the summit in the ParisLongchamp feature. Always happy using the 3-5 favourite Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) as a target, the belle of the Patrice Cottier stable mastered him 150 metres from the line before asserting for a length success at 11-1, with Facteur Cheval (Ire)...

   With no Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) lurking in Sunday's G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, the way is clear for Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) to bag that elite contest that his portfolio demands. Having met his match in Ace Impact (Ire) in the 10 1/2-furlong G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly, Yeguada Centurion SL's G3 Prix de Guiche and G3 Prix la Force winner came up short against Cheveley Park Stud's high-class filly in Deauville's G1 Prix Jacques le Marois last month but that form...

[tdn-newsletter-embed]As expected, Wednesday's G1 Qatar Sussex S. was all about TDN Rising Star Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) who was able to dictate and dominate in Goodwood's heavily rain-softened ground and register a fourth straight top-level success. While his 1 1/2-length verdict over Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) is hardly inspiring stuff, the 4-9 favourite never looked likely to surrender his admirable sequence with Ryan Moore on the stand's rail throughout the closing stages which probably made for more tense watching than the winner's connections had expected. The time of 1:47.16...

Less than a length covered the first five home in Monday's G1 Prix d'Ispahan at ParisLongchamp, with Shadwell's Anmaat (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) edging it from Light Infantry (Fr) (Fast Company {Ire}) in a finish that was touch-and-go. Successful in the G2 Prix Dollar on testing ground here on Arc weekend, the Owen Burrows-trained 5-year-old who was runner-up to Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G3 Gordon Richards S. at Newmarket earlier this month stayed on the best to oust four rivals in line across the track. They were, in order,...