Princess Zoe Kicks Off Ambitious Campaign Cont
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SATURDAY, 3 APRIL 2021 BATTAASH KING=S STAND BID IN JEOPARDY PRINCESS ZOE KICKS OFF Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire})=s bid to defend his G1 King=s AMBITIOUS CAMPAIGN Stand S. title could be in jeopardy, with the 7-year-old=s return to trainer Charlie Hills=s yard delayed after he picked up an injury while wintering at Shadwell. Battaash sustained a small fracture over the winter, however he is back cantering and is expected to return to Hills in a matter of weeks. AHe just had a tiny little fracture in a joint during the winter and we=ve had to give him plenty of time off. He=s had a pin put in it,@ said Angus Gold, Shadwell=s racing manager. AHe=s been back cantering for five weeks now and he seems fine at the moment and we will give him two more weeks cantering there and then, all being well, he will go back into training at that stage. Obviously the horse=s welfare is our main concern. Battaash proved as good as ever last year at six, winning all three starts beginning with the King=s Stand. He then took Glorious Goodwood=s G2 King George S. for the fourth year Princess Zoe winning the Prix du Cadran | Scoop Dyga running before defending his title in the G1 Nunthorpe S. AHe=ll be a month later going into training than normal, but Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) captured the [the late] Sheikh Hamdan did say to try him again as long as he imagination of many with her meteoric rise from 64-rated was sound. Because he is going back in later than normal, it=s German handicapper to Irish listed winner and French Group 1 not guaranteed he=ll get to Royal Ascot. Hopefully he will, but scorer last season, and the Tony Mullins charge gets her 6-year- we will see how he goes when he gets back in. He=s seven years old campaign underway in Saturday=s Listed Noblesse S. going old and we need to make sure he=s in one piece.@ 12 furlongs at Cork. Princess Zoe was second on her first start for Mullins at Navan last June before winning five straight. She earned her first black- type victory under Joey Sheridan in Galway=s mile and a half IN TDN AMERICA TODAY Listed Oyster S. before stepping up to 2 1/2 miles for success in THIS SIDE UP: STILL AMENDING THE DERBY AGENDA ParisLongchamp=s G1 Prix du Cadran. The grey rounded out her Chris McGrath looks at the 3-year-old scene ahead of this spring's season with a fourth in the G1 Prix Royal-Oak. Classic preps. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN America. Cont. p2 TDN EUROPE • PAGE 2 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • 3 APRIL 2021 Princess Zoe Kicks Off Ambitious Campaign cont. from p1 Returning to the immediacy of Saturday=s race, Mullins said, Mullins made it no secret in the interim that his key goal for AThere are no easy races in Ireland now--they are so compe- Princess Zoe in 2021 is the G1 Prix de l=Arc de Triomphe, but he titive. Having had a quick look, I thought Jessie Harring-ton=s said on Friday that for now he is focusing on the first half of the [Flor De La Luna] and Ger Lyons=s [Yaxeni] would be the biggest year. dangers--but if we under-perform there would be others.@ AThe plan is to get two runs into her in April while there=s a cut in the ground, and then we=ll plan the rest of the season after that,@ he said. AI=m keen to go back over a mile and a half with THE REVENANT RETURNS her. People have it in their heads that she=s a dour stayer, but from the work I=m seeing, I think she=ll be as effective or if not more over that trip. She=s won over a mile and a half twice at Galway. Slow horses tend not to be able to do that.@ Princess Zoe=s form was franked last weekend when Subjectivist, who she finished adrift of in the Prix Royal-Oak, emphatically won the G2 Dubai Gold Cup. ASubjectivist was impressive in Dubai, and I thought her run behind him was equally as good as her first in my opinion,@ Mullins said. AShe=d had two trips to France--I thought that was very good. Hopefully she=s as good this year. If she is, the world is our oyster.@ AHer work seems to be as good,@ Mullins added. AShe wouldn=t be 100%, but we=re not far off it. She=s a strange filly, because she loves hard work. We gave her a break after Longchamp, but she was very unhappy, and we had to put her back in light The Revenant | Scoop Dyga training all winter because she was very upset. She=s not like us, While Britain=s flat turf season remains low-key compared to craving a break--she loves her work. So while she=s fit, she might its immediate neighbours, with no black-type action at the sole not just be as razor-sharp as she would be after a run or two. meeting at Musselburgh on Saturday, France takes up the As for what could come after Princess Zoe sharpens up, mantle with the G3 Prix Edmond Blanc the feature at Saint- Mullins said, AWe=ve half an idea of running at Royal Ascot--then Cloud. Staging an early comeback in the mile contest is Al Asayl after that, I can=t see her running again until September. We France=s The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who races under a have put her in the [G2] Yorkshire Cup, but we have a plan to go six-pound penalty as a result of his exploits when winning the to the [G3] Vintage Crop at Navan at the end of April--if it came G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. on Ascot=s Champions Day card. That up firm we have the York option. came just a fortnight after the chestnut had made an AIt might mean meeting Stradivarius at York, but I can say if we exaggeratedly belated seasonal debut in ParisLongchamp=s can=t beat him then we haven=t got an Arc filly--we=re thinking G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein, so connections will be hoping he can big.@ fit more into his calendar this time around. TDN EUROPE • PAGE 3 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • 3 APRIL 2021 Cont. Interestingly, Andre Fabre saddles a quartet in opposition headed by Lady Bamford=s Tropbeau (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who took the G3 Prix de la Grotte on her 2020 bow at ParisLongchamp May 11 and steps back up to this trip having finished a close-up fourth in the seven-furlong G1 Prix de la Senior Vice President Foret at that venue on Arc day. Gary King Twitter: @garykingTDN [email protected] + 1.732.320.0975 International Editor Kelsey Riley Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor EBF PLEDGES ,1.8-MILLION TO Emma Berry PRIZEMONEY IN 2021 Twitter: @collingsberry The European Breeders= Fund has pledged ,1.8-million of its [email protected] earnings from British-based stallions to prizemoney Associate International Editor enhancements in 2021 between flat and National Hunt races, Heather Anderson focused between Class 4 and listed level races. The ,1.68-million Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN pledged to flat racing covers more than 600 races, and is the EBF=s joint-highest contribution equal to 2019. Marketing Manager In 2020, 595 flat races were run in 2020 under EBF conditions, Alayna Cullen receiving ,1,430,250 of funding. British EBF financial Twitter: @AlaynaCullen contributions made up 22.5% of the ,6,358,360 total prize [email protected] money of these races, making them the second-largest sponsor Contributing Editors in the sport. When racing was halted in the early part of 2020, Alan Carasso the EBF re-strategised its initial allocations to release as much Christina Bossinakis EBF money as possible when racing resumed. It also asked racecourses to reflect 100% of EBF money above the BHA Cafe Racing minimum prize funds. Sean Cronin A2020 was a tough year for everyone but we were delighted to Tom Frary be able to get more than ,1.5-million in to prize money, even [email protected] with a truncated race programme,@ said British EBF Chairman Irish Correspondent Simon Sweeting. AThe relative strength of the stallion market Daithi Harvey means that we have been able to maintain our commitment to racing=s prize money in 2021, when we know the effects of the Regular Columnists last year will be felt keenly. We hope by the careful budgeting Chris McGrath | John Berry | Kevin Blake and strategy of the British EBF team, that we will be able to Amy Lynam | Melissa Steele provide a certain amount of continuity and continue to elevate prize money wherever we can.@ British EBF Race Planning Committee Member Sam Bullard IN TDN AUS/NZ TODAY added, AWe are constantly assessing our portfolio of races and how we support them; we work closely with the BHA and THOMPSON DELIGHTED WITH WIDDEN DRAFT racecourses to identify new funding opportunities and are A perennial standout at the Inglis Easter Sale, Widden Stud once again presents a strong draft for the latest renewal. happy to support a much-needed new conditions race for Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Aus/NZ.