SAHorseracing.com
SAHorseracing.com
CAPRI HEADLINES AT DONCASTER

The Irish Derby winner CAPRI (IRE) produced a career-best performance on Saturday to add another Classic to his tally when landing the St Leger (Group 1) at Doncaster. The three-year-old son of multiple Champion Sire Galileo (IRE) became the first horse since the Triple Crown winner Nijinsky to land the two Classics. Though pressed by eventual second Crystal Ocean and third Stradivarius (IRE), both by Galileo’s half-brother Sea The Stars (IRE), he stayed on gamely to win by half a length and give Aidan O’Brien his fifth win in the race. This was however jockey Ryan Moore’s first win in the world’s oldest Classic, completing the full set of British Classics in the process. A Group 2 winning two-year-old, in the Juddmonte Beresford Stakes, CAPRI (IRE) was bred by Lynch Bages and Camas Park Stud and is out of Dialafara, who was bred by HH The Aga Khan.

The first Stakes race on the Leger card on Saturday also went the way of an Irish-bred, when ACLAIM (IRE) accounted for seven rivals in the Group 2 Park Stakes. Trained by Martyn Meade, the four-year-old carried the colours of Canning Downs & Partner, Canning Downs having also co-bred the colt with Dermot Farrington. A winner of the Group 2 Challenge Stakes last October, and narrowly defeated in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest last time out, this was a cosy victory from Nathra (IRE) in second with Home Of The Brave (IRE) third. The Group 1 Prix de la Foret at Chantilly is said to be the winner’s main target.

A son of Rathbarry Stud sire Acclamation, he fetched €130,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale of 2014. He has now won over €300,000 in prizemoney, from his six wins to date. He is the first foal out of Aris (IRE). Her second foal, by Dawn Approach (IRE), realised €125,000 at the Goffs November Foal Sale last year.

The other Stakes race on the card, the Group 2 Champagne Stakes, went to the Aidan O’Brien-trained two-year-old SEAHENGE, on only his third start. He was successful on debut at Naas and then finished fifth in the Group 2 Qatar Vintage Stakes at Goodwood. The Group 1 Dewhurst is likely to be his target.  

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