PRINCE AND THE SPRINTER: The Group-1 dash at Deauville produced a new champion yesterday but is Prince Faisal’s winner more than a sprinter?
BULL’S-EYE NAP FOR DAQMAN: Daqman can’t split two outsiders in the Sprint Final tonight but first a rare bull’s-eye nap with win and place.
26-1 ONLY MAKE BELIEVE
Eloquent and fluent. That’s the meaning of Sajir and that’s the way Andre Fabre’s colt came home in the Group 1 at Deauville yesterday.
The ‘unbeatable’ Lazzat took the field along for the Prix Maurice de Gheest (6.5f) under James Doyle but hit a flat spot coming to the final furlong.
Lazzat came again to finish second but Sajir had flown under a confident Oisin Murphy, with the Jean Prat winner, Wooshauna, the first three-year-old home in third.
Sajir, well beaten by Lazzat last season, had only Group-3-winning form but opened 2025 by taking the Abernant at Newmarket under Murphy, who clearly knew when to press his buttons.
Sajir’s 26-1 success (officially 269-10) in fast time was a double triumph for Fabre, 30 times champion of France: winning the race, yes; but even running in it was a battle of words in winning over Prince Faisal and his racing manager, who admitted:
‘We thought about Royal Ascot, where he had to be withdrawn at the start; that left York; we had wanted to convince Prince Faisal to leave Deauville alone but somehow it all went in that direction.
‘You see, the prince raced his sire, Make Believe, so was constantly mindful of his responsibility. Winning at Newmarket made a man of Sajir and winning like this today made the wait worthwhile.’
Make Believe won the 2015 French 2,000 Guineas and followed up in the Foret, races over a mile and over 7f. The Foret is Sajir’s future.
HIGH HEAVENS AT 13.0
⭕ 3.30 Ayr Good Heavens! J P McManus has his first runner in UK since Goodwood and he’s absolutely thrown in on the ratings, a stone or so lower than at this time last year. Yet 13.0 in Betdaq Betting Exchange this morning (3.3 a place).
The one-time Irish Cambridgeshire runner-up off 98 has been in Group 3 and class 2 mixed with hurdling, but now plummets to 80, despite racing well in touch at Hamilton in June, his first run back after 11 months off.
⭕ 4.52 Kempton Arabian Poet ran well to finish runner-up in a ‘win and you’re in’ St Leger trial at Doncaster in July. It was his reappearance race following a gelding op after disappointing in October.
Ivatt has also had a run since his being gelded; not disgraced behind Skimmer in a class 2 here at Kempton, and likely to do better.
ANOTHER MURPHY DREAM
⭕ 7.10 Windsor (Sprint Series Final) Amazonian Dream has won for Oisin Murphy off 84, 83 and 78, and is back here on 80 to make up for his neck defeat (under a different jockey) when saddled with 88 in this race a year ago. BETDAQ 8.6
Trefor, beaten little more than a length in fifth (short of room final strides), won twice in June, one of them at today’s class-2 level. BETDAQ 10.0
DAQMAN’S BETS on Betdaq Betting Exchange
★ 3.30 Ayr (win-50 bull’s-eye nap)
BET 4.1pts win and place GOOD HEAVENS
4.52 Kempton (each to win 22)
BET 5pts win ARABIAN POET
BT 4pts to win 10 IVATT
7.10 Windsor (each to win 30)
BET 4pts win AMAZONIAN DREAM
BET 3.1pts win TREFOR
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