Handicappers' Corner: Immortal Verse posts big rating in winning Marois

Timeform Debate / Simon Rowlands / 15 August 2011 / Leave a Comment

Royal Ascot winner Immortal Verse lowered the colours of Goldikova in the Prix Jacques le Marois

"Immortal Verse is likely to be rated 126 or 127 after this – a very high figure for one of her age and sex..."

There was little to get excited about in Britain in the last week, but racing in France and the USA made up for that. Simon Rowlands runs the rule over the performances from a handicapping point of view.

There were few races or performances of great note in Britain in the last week, with the Ebor Meeting at York just around the corner, but there were plenty of them further afield.

Deauville's Monday card featured a Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard - Jacques le Marois with even more strength in depth than usual for a Group 1, but it did not stop Goldikova going off at a very short price in a field of 12.

In the event, she had her colours lowered by a three-year-old filly of rare merit in Immortal Verse, who was following up her win in Royal Ascot's Coronation Stakes. Immortal Verse is likely to be rated 126 or 127 after this - a very high figure for one of her age and sex - with Goldikova and Sahpresa running to about 124.

The signs are that Goldikova is not quite so good as she was when winning the Marois by six lengths and five in 2009, but she still maintained her remarkable record of being first or second in a Group or Grade 1 on every start in the past two seasons.

Goldikova's half-sister Galikova won the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano earlier on the Deauville card in workmanlike fashion, running to 118. The close proximity of Slow Pace in second, and of a couple of other outsiders a bit further back, suggests the winner improved only a little and that the previously unbeaten pair Golden Lilac and Waldmark underperformed slightly.

There was a notable performance over the weekend at Deauville also, with Cirrus des Aigles landing the Group 3 Prix Gontaut-Biron by eight lengths. The five-year-old gelding had seemed a touch flattered when beaten narrowly by Sarafina and by Goldikova earlier on but is clearly a high-class middle-distance performer in his own right and is now rated 127.

Stacelita is no longer trained in France, but her success in the Grade 1 Beverly D Stakes at Arlington at the weekend on her first outing for Chad Brown still managed to seem like a blow for the Europeans. She ran to 121 in seeing off the ex-British Dubawi Heights (rated 118) under an enterprising hold-up ride.

An even bigger prize went back across the Atlantic when Cape Blanco took the Grade 1 Arlington Million shortly afterwards by two and a half lengths from Gio Ponti. The runner-up is probably not quite the force of old, but Cape Blanco still had to run to 124 again to win as he did. Fourth-placed Wigmore Hall met trouble in running and has been rated second-best on 122.

Aidan O'Brien, responsible for Cape Blanco, also bagged the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes earlier on the card with Treasure Beach. The Derby runner-up and Irish Derby winner ran a fraction below his best at 120 in beating Ziyarid by a neck, the truer pace (reflected in a faster time) than for the Million probably helping him at this shorter distance.

It is fair to say that the Europeans will be entitled to fancy their chances in the turf races in particular come Breeders' Cup time, but a reminder of what the home team can offer came with the success of Winchester (an ex-European if you go back some way) in the Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga, the six-year-old entire confirming his previous rating of 121.

One of the most noteworthy performances in Britain in the same period came with the win of Census (rated 120) in the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury, a race in which he reversed placings from Royal Ascot with Brown Panther (118). Both colts look credible St Leger candidates.

Marco Botti's Excelebration was another to post a high-class figure on the Newbury card, the German 2000 Guineas winner, who has twice been beaten by Frankel this year, running to 128 in beating Beacon Lodge by six lengths in the Hungerford.