France: Space Blues surges in Prix de la Foret
The 5-year-old horse Space Blues is based with trainer Charlie Appleby in England but has done much of his best work in France, where he was an impressive two-length winner of the Group 1 Prix de la Foret on Sunday.
Held up by William Buick near the back of a 15-runner field, Space Blues came smoothly into contention with a wide homestretch move, bursting into the clear in the final furlong and going on to a two-length victory over Pearls Galore.
The Godolphin homebred, by Dubawi out of Miss Lucifer, by Noverre, now has a glittering record of 3-1-1 from five starts in France, four of them at the Group 1 level.
While Sunday’s race came over heavy going, Space Blues has been just as comfortable running on firmer footing. This is the horse’s final year of racing before going to stud, and Appleby said after the Foret that Space Blues, all being well, was a strong candidate to ship to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Space Blues ($9.20) is a Group 1 winner over 6 1/2 and seven furlongs, but could really relish the mile over the Del Mar course, which has relatively tight turns and a short homestretch.
In the five-furlong, straight-course Group 1 Prix l’Abbaye, A Case of You got up in the final stride to nip pacesetting longshot Air de Valse. Glass Slippers, who won this race in 2019 and the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in 2020, finished five lengths behind the top two, but managed to get third.
The Abbaye is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race and winning trainer Adrian McGuinness said the race to which it’s linked, the BC Turf Sprint, is a possibility for A Case of You. A Case of You ($23.60) is a 3-year-old by Hot Streak out of Karjera, by Key of Luck. Based in Ireland, he had finished second in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes at Leopardstown in his most recent outing.