Zarigana Awarded Pouliches; Shes Perfect Demoted

At the end of a week to forget for Kieran Shoemark, the rider who had suffered agony at Newmarket eight days earlier had to endure a second bout as the ParisLongchamp stewards stripped his mount Shes Perfect of G1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches glory on Sunday. Connections of the Charlie Fellowes-trained daughter of Sioux Nation were ebullient for a precious few minutes after the photo showed her a nose ahead of the 4-5 favourite Zarigana, but an objection from Mickael Barzalona soon raised the alarm.

After deliberation, the officials judged the 18-1 winner to have caused interference to the eventual fourth Exactly as she drifted left in the closing stages, who in turn took Zarigana off a true line. With such a minimal margin separating the duo who had finished the other way around in the course-and-distance G3 Prix de la Grotte, the decision came down in favour of the Aga Khans Studs' daughter of Siyouni.

“Obviously, it was a tough few minutes and we don't like to win like this,” trainer Francis-Henri Graffard said of the promoted winner, who for a brief period looked to have suffered a second heart-breaking defeat here, having also lost out by a nose in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc day. “We feel sorry for the connections of Shes Perfect, but this is racing and it has happened to me in the past. To be fair to my filly, when she came, she got really unbalanced at the wrong time and at the end it was only a nose.”

“I am very happy for this filly, there was a lot of expectation and she deserved a win like that and it would have been very frustrating to be second, beaten a nose,” he added. “It's so important for the team, it's huge. It's quite hard to really enjoy it, it's more like a relief than proper joy. I think she can be ridden closer to the pace, but I think it's important to give her cover. Mikael gave her a good ride and I think she deserved to win, but again I'm very sorry for the connections of Shes Perfect.”

Zarigana wins the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in the stewards' room! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/qTNAVTJ8Vm

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 11, 2025

Key to the outcome here was the errant passage of Shes Perfect inside the final two furlongs, but the real story of the race was the remarkable final three-furlong split of Zarigana as she stormed home in a rapid 32.50 despite receiving a bump. Once she was clear of Exactly, her surge to the line in 11.31 demonstrated how much running she had left in the tank and there is no decisive call on the judgement of the inquiry.

Charlie Fellowes was taken aback by the outcome, with an appeal being considered. “I thought the contact was minimal and it was a long way out, so I was very surprised,” he explained. “In England, it would not have been overturned–we would have kept it. I need to speak to some people and get some advice on the situation–whether it's worth appealing, I've no idea really.”

“My filly is so tough, I was worried about the ground before the race and that it was plenty quick enough for her, but she's obviously more versatile than I realised,” he added. “I think she'll stay 10, but she just needs to relax a bit better. She's just nearly won a Classic over a mile, so there's no desperate need to step her up yet. We'll maybe look at that later in the year.”

TDN Rising Star Zarigana may not be asked to emulate the Classic double achieved by her second dam Zarkava, with the G1 Prix de Diane appearing less likely than the G1 Coronation Stakes where she can renew rivalry with the demoted winner. “I'm not sure she needs to step up in trip,” Graffard added. “If we decide to stick to a mile, then we will go to Royal Ascot and the Coronation with her. Mandanaba should step up in trip and head to the Prix de Diane.”

Pedigree Notes

Frankel's Zarkamiya, who proved a genuine 12-furlong performer when winning the Listed Prix Thiberville and finishing third in the G1 Prix Vermeille, is one of two notables produced by the luminary Zarkava who holds a special place in the operation's annuls. Her Dubawi-sired G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud-winning son Zarak is now emerging as a force in his second career, while Zarkava's G3 Prix Minerve-winning half-sister Zarshana by Sea The Stars is responsible for Frankel's G1 Prix Ganay runner-up Zarir. The third foal out of Zarkamiya is a filly named Zarouma by Zarak's sire Dubawi.

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
EMIRATES POULE D'ESSAI DES POULICHES-G1, €550,000, ParisLongchamp, 5-11, 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:34.05, gd.
1–ZARIGANA (GB), 126, f, 3, by Siyouni (Fr)
    1st Dam: Zarkamiya (Fr) (SW & G1SP-Fr, $144,304), by Frankel (GB)
    2nd Dam: Zarkava (Ire), by Zamindar
    3rd Dam: Zarkasha (Ire), by Kahyasi (Ire)
TDN Rising Star. 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-The Aga Khan Studs; T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Mickael Barzalona. €314,270. Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0, €500,710. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
*2–Shes Perfect (Ire), 126, f, 3, Sioux Nation–Galeaza (GB), by Galileo (Ire).
1ST G1 BLACK-TYPE. (€22,000 RNA Wlg '22 GOFNOV; €35,000 Ylg '23 GOFORB; €50,000 2yo '24 ARQMAY). O-Basher Watts Racing 2; B-Denis McDonnell; T-Charlie Fellowes. €125,730.
3–Mandanaba (Fr), 126, f, 3, Ghaiyyath (Ire)–Mandesha (Fr), by Desert Style (Ire).
TDN Rising Star. 1ST G1 BLACK-TYPE. O/B-Princess Zahra Aga Khan; T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €62,865.
Margins: NO, 1, HD. Odds: 0.80, 18.00, 6.90.
Also Ran: Exactly (Ire), Better Together (GB), Bedtime Story (Ire), Daylight (Fr), Godspeed (Fr), Ghoufrann (Ire), Mimos (Fr), Heavens Gate (Ire), Celestial Orbit (GB), Merrily.
*Shes Perfect finished first, but was disqualified and placed second.