Favored Godolphin runners sweep French 2000, 1000 Guineas

Godolphin swept the two classic races for 3-year-olds Sunday at Longchamp, where Persian King won the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the French 2000 Guineas, by one length and Castle Lady proved a nose best in the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, the 1000 Guineas.

Andre Fabre trains Persian King, the more talented, faster, and more promising of the two Godolphin winners Sunday, and Persian King captured the Poulains, his connections said, very much despite a heavy course rather than because of it.

Persian King, the odds-on favorite, has plenty of pace and prefers good ground but got a perfect trip under Pierre-Charles Boudot and gutted out a relatively decisive victory in the one-mile Poulains.

Boudot tucked Persian King in behind the leaders and hewed to the fence until a gap opened more than a quarter-mile from the finish. Persian King went willingly through and quickened as best he could over the going to open a clear advantage. Boudot stayed busy on his mount, who couldn’t increase his lead after obtaining it, and Persian King crossed the wire a length clear of Shaman, who won a photo with longshot San Donato for second. The winning time was a modest 1:38.98 owing to the conditions.

Godolphin bought into Persian King over the winter after the colt, trained all along by Fabre, defeated Magna Grecia last fall in the Group 3 Autumn Stakes while still owned outright by Ballymore Thoroughbreds. Magna Grecia returned to action last weekend and won the English 2000 Guineas, and while Fabre apparently toyed with the idea of running Persian King in that race following his victory in the Prix de Fontainebleau on April 15, he and Godolphin decided in the end to remain closer to home.

Now Persian King, a son of Kingman and Pretty Please, by Dylan Thomas, will be pointed to another French classic, the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) next month.

It was not as easy for Castle Lady one race later in the Pouliches. Castle Lady, ridden by Mickael Barzalona for trainer Henri-Alex Pantall, got a somewhat similar trip to Persian King while stalking the pace, but she was two paths wide with cover when Barzalona peeled her to the far outside to make a run after turning into the home straight.

Castle Lady could never get separation from her rivals but plugged along gamely to win by a nose over Commes, as East, who might need a longer distance, finished a solid third in her first start since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Commes, trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, flattered the form of the exciting prospect Siyarafina, whose connections decided not to supplement her to the French Guineas following a key workout that didn’t sufficiently please trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre.

Castle Lady, the tepid 5-2 favorite off a course-and-distance prep win last month in the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte, needed 1:40.91 to cover the same one-mile trip as Persian King. Still, the filly – by Shamardal and out of Windsor County, by Elusive Quality – has won all three of her starts and now has found success at the highest level.

• Aidan O’Brien already had the Epsom Derby markets buzzing with Sir Dragonet’s awesome performance Wednesday in the Chester Vase, and he expanded his Derby contingent over the weekend when Anthony Van Dyck won the Derby Trial at Lingfield on Saturday and Broom landed the Derby Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday.