Rosanara

Sunday's Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp was a rough contest, with Liliside engineering a passage for herself two furlongs out that did Full Steam no favours, but Rosanara was also badly hampered by the manoeuvre and she did really well to finish within three parts of a length of the winner. Held up out the back in the early stages, the daughter of Sinndar travelled well into the home straight, and was just angling to the outside to deliver her challenge when the concertina effect that started on the rail resulted in Full Steam coming right across her and taking her ground. Christophe Lemaire had to snatch his filly up, move one more horse-width out and begin again. She was more than two lengths behind Liliside passing the furlong pole and more than a length behind Special Duty, and she was widest of all, but she finished best to go close.

This may not have been a brilliant French 1000 Guineas. They didn't appear to go a great gallop, there was plenty of trouble through the race and the first six home finished within a length of each other. That said, it was a fine run from Rosanara, to make so much ground from the rear after being hampered when the early pace was so slow. The Aga Khan's filly looked very good in winning the Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc de Triomphe day last October on just her second ever run. She has been disappointing in two runs since, but you can find excused for both of those if you want - the ground was desperately soft in the Criterium International at Saint-Cloud in November, and she seemed to tire after quickening nicely on her seasonal debut in the Prix de la Grotte in April - and this run suggests that you should. She is entered in the Coronation Stakes, in which she would be of interest, but she is also in the Irish Oaks, which is more interesting. She is by Sinndar out of a Linamix mare who won over 10 furlongs and whose dam won over a mile and five furlongs, she is not lacking pace but she gave the impression here that she could easily get further than a mile. When she won the Prix Marcel Boussac last season over seven furlongs, she won it more with a relentless gallop that took her to the front on the outside than with a blinding turn of foot. Her breeding says that she should get a mile and a half and, while she will be of interest wherever she goes next, a step up in trip could bring about further improvement.

16th May 2010

© The Irish Field, 22nd May 2010

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