Natagora will use the straight seven furlongs of Maisons-Laffitte's $85,000 listed Prix Imprudence on Monday as her sole prep for the classic 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 4.
Trained by Pascal Bary, Natagora will face nine opponents in the Imprudence, chief among them the David Smaga-trained Modern Look, the winner last fall of Maisons-Laffitte's six-furlong Group 3 Prix Miesque.
NEW YORK - The American posse that raided Nad Al Sheba two weeks ago has returned to the ranch with booty totaling $7,020,000, more than one-third of all the loot up for grabs on Dubai World Cup Night. Nine of the 15 U.S. runners who traveled to the United Arab Emirates had a profitable trip, bringing back enough cash to cause a minor blip in the gross national product.
Zarkava prepares for her classic tilts in the French 1000 Guineas and French Oaks at Longchamp on Sunday, needing to overcome six rivals and heavy ground in the Group 3, $126,000 Prix de la Grotte. The winner of the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac in October over the one-mile Grotte course, the undefeated Zarkava, trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, is probably good enough to win in the mud.
The Pascal Bary-trained Conference Call, 2 1/2 lengths second to Zarkava in the Marcel Boussac, and Group 3 runners-up Gipson Dessert and Mousse au Chocolat could challenge.
The $2.1 million Oka Sho, or Japanese 1000 Guineas, at Hanshin on Sunday, will be a highly competitive affair featuring the first three home from the March 8 Tulip Sho, in which Air Pascale, Tall Poppy, and Odile were separated only by noses.
A War Emblem filly, Air Pascale led throughout the Tulip Sho, run over the same Hanshin mile as the Oka Sho. She just held onto defeat Tall Poppy, last year's Japanese 2-year-old filly champ and the expected favorite Sunday.
Gliding, the winner of the Foxboro Supreme Hurdle and the Temple Gwathmey last year, has arrived in Japan for his April 14 date in the $1.6 million Nakayama Grand Jump at Nakayama Racecourse near Tokyo.
"From New York to Tokyo, with a stop at Anchorage, the flight time was 15 hours, or 23 hours for the entire trip," said exercise rider and groom James Piper. "It was a long way, but he is hungry like I've never seen him back home. He seems to be in good condition."
Listen, the antepost favorite for both British fillies classics, has been ruled out of the 1000 Guineas and is unlikely to make the lineup for the English Oaks, her trainer, Aidan O'Brien, said on Monday.
A daughter of Sadler's Wells, Listen returned stiff after a workout and it was decided by O'Brien and owners Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, and Susan Magnier to give her a month off. It is therefore doubtful that she can be at Epsom for the Oaks on June 6.
Missing the Dubai World Cup with a minor eye injury may yet prove to have been a blessing in disguise for Daiwa Scarlet. The 4-year-old Agnes Tachyon filly returned from a 3 1/2-month winter vacation on Sunday, defeating males in the Grade 2, $1.2 million Osaka Hai at Hanshin.
Full of Gold was the big winner in the first European round of classic preps on Sunday. The colt, trained by Criquette Head-Maarek, followed up on his Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud victory of last November with a game head victory over Court Canibal in Longchamp's Group 2, $203,000 Prix Noailles.
Owned by Head-Maarek's father, Alec Head, and ridden by Thierry Gillet, Full of Gold covered the 1 5/16 miles on heavy ground in 2:22.50 as the 9-10 favorite. He will have his final prep for the French Derby on May 5 when he returns to Longchamp for the Group 2 Prix Hocquart.
Doubts are being raised about the accuracy of the times recorded at Nad Al Sheba on Dubai World Cup Night last Saturday. The Emirates Racing Authority has removed the fractional times from its website and has announced that it is conducting an investigation into claims by the Racing Post that several clockings were inaccurate.