CAPTAINS LOVER / BARRY IRWIN.

The CLAN wish Barry and his team all the best!

CAPTAIN’S LOVER STEPS UP TO GROUP 1 STAKES SUNDAY AT LONGCHAMP,
BARGAIN YEARLING WILL FACE 8 OF EUROPE’S BEST OVER SEVEN-EIGHTHS,
SOUTH AFRICAN 4YO FILLY SEEKS TO BUILD ON HER FRENCH GROUP 3 BOW

Barry Irwin has left the building and should be racing in France as today’s Insiders’ Bulletin sees the light of day. Team Valor International’s owner will be on hand Saturday at Longchamp to see his pride and joy Captain’s Lover contest the Group 1 Prix de la Foret.

Nine horses are expected to line up for the $360,000 fixture, in which the 4-year-old filly owned by Team Valor International and Anant and Vanashree Singh will break from stall number 3 and have Olivier Peslier in the saddle replacing Stephane Pasquier, who must honor a commitment as the retained rider in France for Juddmonte Stable. Post time is 8:20 a. m. She is listed at odds of 9 to 1 with the bookmaker Coral.

Captain’s Lover, bought for $27,000 by Irwin at the National Yearling Sale, she was the Champion Filly at 3 in South Africa, making the Grade 1 Cape Fillies Guineas her fourth win from 6 outings. The Captain Al filly made her first French start a winning one when she bolted up by about a length in the Group 2 Prix du Pin over the same course and distance as Saturday’s Group 1.

Team Valor had no expectations for the “prize of the pine (tree)” raced alongside the Bois de Boulogne, the “foret” (forest) that skirts the most prestigious racing venue in Paris. Leading trainer Andre Fabre less than a month earlier seemed quite unimpressed with the 4-year-old’s training and acted like he was ready to take Barry Irwin’s suggestion that he simply back off her training, put her away and produce her the following spring.

Then came a cryptic not that stated “she worked good on 6 furlongs” and he planned to run her in the Group 3 sprint.

Make no mistake—while the Prix du Pin officially is the recognized steppingstone to the Foret, it did not feature anywhere near the quality or speed that will show up on the weekend for the venerable fixture, where showers are forecast for Friday and Saturday.

From SportingLife.com comes the following:

Rose Retains Foret Option

Sprint Cup winner African Rose could step back up to seven furlongs for Saturday's Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.

Criquette Head-Maarek's 3-year-old filly confirmed the promise of her run behind Marchand D'Or in the Prix Maurice de Gheest to win the rearranged Group One at Doncaster.

The Prix de l'Abbaye over 5 furlongs was mentioned as an intended target following that run but she also has an alternative in the Foret.

Richard Hannon is carrying all before him at present and he has a strong Foret contender in Paco Boy, who finished third in the Prix du Moulin last time.

The likes of Doncaster third Utmost Respect, US Ranger, Al Qasi and Welsh Emperor, who has finished second in the Group One contest for the last two years, form part of a strong overseas contingent.

Pascal Bary's 1000 Guineas winner Natagora could step back in trip to seven furlongs for the first time since her initial run of the season.

Coral inserted Paco Boy as their 5-2 favourite ahead of African Rose at 100-30.

"Richard Hannon is picking up big prizes at home and abroad at present, and we favour his Paco Boy to continue his great form as he bids to land a first Group One," said Coral's David Stevens.

Betting

Coral Bet: 5-2 Paco Boy, 100-30 African Rose, 13-2 Utmost Respect, 7-1 US Ranger, 8-1 Natagora, 9-1 Captain's Lover, 14-1 Astronomer Royal, Spirito Del Vento, 16-1 Al Qasi, 20-1 Duff, 25-1 Belliflore, 33-1 Welsh Emperor, 66-1 Blue Cayenne, 100-1 Honoured Guest, 150-1 Chasing Stars.

From Racing Post in England comes the following:

Connections confident about Captain's Lover in Foret

by Tom Peacock

FRANCE: POSITIVE vibes are emerging about the prospects for Captain's Lover in Saturday's Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.

Barry Irwin, founder of international owners Team Valor, took the decision to send his filly from South Africa to the care of master French trainer Andre Fabre. A Grade 1 winner at Kenilworth last December, she took a while to acclimatise to her new home but made a successful return to the track by beating the solid yardstick Spirito Del Vento in last month's Prix du Pin.

"I've had enough horses running in South Africa over the years to know which are the good ones," said Irwin. "Irridescence (runner-up in the 2007 Falmouth and Beverly D Stakes) would have been one, and this one is just as good at her best.

"I thought about sending her to England but a couple of horses I have had over there have had problems with the undulations of the tracks. French tracks are usually flatter so I asked Andre Fabre if he would train her. I hadn't had a horse with him before but I have bred one with him. He said he'd train her and that was good enough for me."

Irwin continued: "About a month before she ran Andre sent me a picture of her and it didn't look great.
We decided to work her but it only went so-so and I was prepared for Andre not to run her at allthis season. Then a couple of weeks later he emailed to say she had worked again and it was good, so she was entered for the Prix du Pin."

It appears she is still going well, as when asked whether she had progressed again since the race, Irwin said: "I think Andre's pretty confident. We are not sure what will happen after this race. I have been asked if she is eligible for the Breeders' Cup, but we will wait for Saturday first."

From Racing Post by Camilla Hicks: NATAGORA DELIGHTS IN PRE-FORET WORK

Natagora, winner of the 1,000 Guineas, delighted trainer Pascal Bary in her final piece of work for her next intended target, the Group 1 Prix de la Foret at Longchamp on October 4. The greyfilly has had a busy summer, taking in three Group 1 races in just over a month. At the beginning of August she finished third to Goldikova and Darjina in the Prix Rothschild, followed by a second to Tamayuz in the Prix Jacques le Marois.

At Longchamp earlier this month, Natagora looked tired when a well-beaten sixth in the Prix du Moulin, again to Goldikova. Connections are now aiming her at the 7f Foret, a distance over which she has not run since winning a Listed race in April. Bary, who trains Natagora for Stefan Friborg, said on Friday from Chantilly: “She worked really well this morning on ‘Les Aigles' and she will now go for the Foret

Do you think that our bookies will price up on Captains lover and National Colour today. Looking for doubles and trebles with clairwood meeting

Blackpearl have the Captain at 6/1

a very mediocre 4th I thought, battling to keep up with them.Just my opinion ( was there a 4th unsaddling box ? )

She just missed 3rd and this was a GR1 against the boys. Not disgraced.

Trainer says 7 furlongs is now too short for her against this type of competition. When the winner crossed in front of her at the break and she was unable to get a good position early, it did not help her. She stayed on at the end, as she did when she won, and probably made a mistake not running her in the Group 2 mile in stead. That race on the same program was won by the older horse Captain's Lover beat easily last time.

Time for the 7 furlongs was 1:19.80. The 8 furlongs of the Group 2 was 1:39. Major difference of nearly 20 seconds for a single furlong!

Adios Bookies, I don't know how you read form, but this was a super-not contest by any racing man's standards. The 4yo colt that beat her a head for third has a 124 Timeform rating. The runner-up won the Guineas. The winner is a freak.

Christophe Soumillon guides Paco Boy to his first Group 1 victory in the Prix de La Foret



RICHARD HANNON'S great week got even better as the trainer's Paco Boy recorded his first Group 1 success with a comfortable victory in the Total Prix de La Foret.

The three-year-old was settled in mid-division for much of the race and eased into contention in the final furlong to score at 13-8.

Duff had taken them along at a sensible pace and, as his challenge ended, 7-1 shot Natagora took over the running and looked a big danger only for Christophe Soumillon to come upsides cruising on the son of Desert Style.

Richard Hannon junior said: "He's unbeaten over seven furlongs and now he's won a Group 1 that takes care of his stallion career and we can look at other things.

"He deserved a Group 1 and while he was beaten fair and square here last time, he was a little keen and didn't have much room in the closing stages.

"The Breeders' Cup Mile is an option, the owners are keen but he might have done enough for this season.

"Seven furlongs is obviously his trip but he has limited options over that distance.

"I think he does stay a mile which means we can look at the likes of the Lockinge and QEII next year."

While Soumillon added: “It was a great ride today, he's a very nice horse. I thank Richard Hughes for his good instructions on the horse.”

US Ranger (9-1) filled the remaining places for the Johnny Murtagh and Aidan O'Brien team.

Attached files

South Africans are used used to our horses doing well overseas,I suppose we were all hoping for her to win,a 4th is still great under the circumstances.She will bounce back...lets remember she isnt running against maidens in PE.

Break a leg Barry.