Novellist eases to victory in Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud – Horseracing News
Novellist secured a comfortable victory in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Group 1), as Cirrus Des Aigles failed to shine.
The former of the two runners has been doing a very good job for his team since debuting in the sport and he has really become a force to reckon with over the past couple of years. He was not given the best odds for winning the
Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, but proved his critics wrong in the end.
The bookies had opted for a seasoned challenger Cirrus Des Aigles, who has been in the sport for quite some time and has won numerous races until now. However, he failed miserably and had to settle for fifth in the end, which was
simply unacceptable for his camp.
Corine Barande-Barbe, trainer of the favourite stallion said that he was hoping for a victory, but things did not work out as planned. However, he claimed that the future plans will not be affected by this result.
Although the seven-year-old gelding failed to make a strong impression, he showed some spirit towards the end by making up a few places. Looking at that, Corine added, “He needed it. At 2,000m he probably would have won but at
2,400m he was just a bit short today. For the moment the plan remains the same and he'll progress in the next five weeks.”
If Cirrus Des Aigles had been at his best, the story would have been different and Novellist could not have won easily. The latter showed extremely good stamina and finished on top by more than one length.
The winning jockey, Ryan Moore said about his runner, “He settled very well and travelled into the race. When he got the split there he quickened up well. I probably got there a bit soon and he got a bit lonely but he's tough.”
Another stallion, who impressed one and all was Dunaden, as he finished as a runner up in the race. He looked good at one stage, but did not have the stamina to stay in the end. However, his confidence would have improved to a
great extent and he will definitely be competitive in future events.
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