VICTOR AT HIS BEST IN POULAINS SUCCESS

André Fabre saddled his eighth winner of the Gr.1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains at Deauville when Godolphin’s homebred Shamardal colt Victor Ludorum reversed the form of his seasonal reappearance when only third in the Gr.3 Prix de Fontainebleau.

Never able to get to the all the way winner The Summit (Wootton Bassett) that day, the bay was settled near the back of yesterday’s nine-strong field, which was towed along by Reshabar (Iffraaj). The latter gave way to Celestin (Dabirsim) around the 400m mark as Victor Ludorum could be seen making smooth progress near the stands rail under Mickaël Barzalona. The pair went to the front with 200m to go and kept on well, pulling clear of The Summit and scoring by a cosy length and a half. The winner’s stable companion Alson (Areion) was third, just a neck further behind.

The winning rider Mickaël Barzalona, said: “His last race did him a lot of good. He cantered down to the start beautifully, even though we had to go the full mile. He can be difficult in the preliminaries, but once the stalls open he is a complete professional. He was very switched off during the race. I wanted to ride him the way that suited him. Initially I had intended to go forward, but he was in his rhythm and progressed in his own time. He never wins by huge distances, but I had plenty left in hand. He moved easily and with a great action. He knows how to gallop.”

Victor Ludorum, one of three unbeaten Gr.1-winning juveniles by Shamardal last season, collected easy victories at Longchamp and Chantilly in September before rounding out his first campaign with a thrilling success in the Gr.1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère on Arc day, defeating his now stable companion and yesterday’s third placed Alson by three quarters of a length. He holds entries in both the 2100m Gr.1 Prix du Jockey Club and the Gr.1 Grand Prix de Paris over 2400m, the latter a trip over which neither his sire nor dam raced.

He is, however, inbred 3×3 to the 1985 Gr.1 Irish Oaks winner Helen Street (Troy), dam of leading sire Street Cry (Machiavellian), whose two Gr.1 victories came at 1m1f and 1m2f, and his full-sister, Shamardal’s Listed-placed dam Helenski. To Montjeu the latter also produced Geoffrey Chaucer, who was Gr.3-placed over 1m2f, while the winner’s grandam Historian (Pennekamp) is also the second dam of Carpathian (Elusive City), a dual Listed winner up to 2m3f in Germany. The family is generally more speedy, though, and also includes the Gr.1- winning miler and first season sire Territories (Invincible Spirit).