Celestial Halo surprises opponents in Gras Savoye Corporate Life Prix La Barka – Horseracing News
Celestial Halo stunned his rivals with a splendid victory in the Gras Savoye Corporate Life Prix La Barka at Auteuil in France on Sunday, May 19, 2013.
The seasoned gelding was given a general starting price of 32 to 1, which clearly indicated that he was not considered to be fighting for the top three positions in the race. However, he proved his critics wrong,
winning by a comfortable margin of more than one length.
Everything went perfectly well for the nine-year-old challenger, which helped him succeed at the end of the day. He started off nicely and stayed in the midfield for quite some time. He started getting prominent
as the race progressed and really pressed hard towards the final 100 yards, which allowed him to gain the lead before the finish line approached.
Celestial Halo’s jockey, Daryl Jacob was pleased with the outcome of the race and said, “He got the trip well and the soft ground helped him. I had a good run on him when we were second in the World Hurdle so
was always confident he'd stay the trip. He jumped well the whole way and I had a great position so I was always happy.”
On the other hand, the race proved to be a major disappointment for Thousand Stars, who was priced as the favourite to succeed. There was no question mark over his stamina, but he simply lacked the speed to match
some of the other stallions.
As a result, the Willie Mullins’ trainee had to settle for fourth place overall. His fans would have been dejected with this performance, as he was not expected to be challenged by his rivals in the Grade 2 encounter.
Despite that, Mullins says that his seasoned stallion will be back in action soon. He stated, “Ruby (jockey) said Thousand Stars was never travelling but he stayed on well so I think I'm going to come back with
him in three weeks' time.”
The 2013 season has not proved to be an ideal one for Thousand Stars until now, as he has been unable to win a single event. If he continues performing this way, his owners might have to think of retiring him
to the stud.
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