A “LINK” TO THE PAST
All the talk centered around the big names among the older
horses before yesterday's G1 Prix de l'Arc de
Triomphe Lucien Barriere, but it was the sophomore Rail Link (GB)
(DANSILI) {GB}) who
came to the fore in a stellar renewal at Longchamp.
Khalid Abdullah's G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner was allowed to
drift to an inflated 23-1 in the face of heavy support for Deep
Impact (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), but surpassed the 1-2 crowd's choice
approaching the final
eighth. Stephane Pasquier hand rode the bay to ensure victory and,
despite the late flourish of Pride (Fr) (Peintre Celebre), he had
an ultimately cozy neck margin to spare at the line. "This is a
great reward for Juddmonte Farms and Khalid Abdullah, and the fact
that he is by DANSILI, who I trained, gives me twice
the pride," commented Andre Fabre, registering his seventh Arc
success. I'm just part of the chain and my pride is in the horse,
whom I have always loved.
Rail Link lost his rider on his debut at Saint-Cloud Apr. 10 and
was second on his next start at Chantilly May 10. But since his
graduation at Saint-Cloud 19 days later, the Juddmonte homebred has
stayed on a steep upward curve. Taking the rise in class in his
impressive stride when recording the first of three
course-and-distance wins in the June 20 G3 Prix du Lys, he went on
to annex the July 14 Grand Prix de Paris. Rail Link returned from a
summer rest to win this race's main sophomore prep, the Sept. 10 G2
Prix Niel. Breaking well in the Arc, he found himself in front out
of the gates before being restrained to track Deep Impact in
mid-pack as Irish Wells (Fr) (Poliglote {GB}) and then Shirocco
(Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) took the field along. Traveling strongly into
the straight as the Japanese challenger took over, he rolled by
that rival with 12 furlongs remaining and had already ensured the
win as Pride closed.
"He's a lovely horse who has taken time to mature," Teddy
Grimthorpe, the owner/breeder's racing manager, explained. "He's
kept on improving with each start, and when he won the Grand Prix
de Paris, he showed he
was a high-class horse. Especially in the last three months, Andre
has been delighted with him, but to win
like that is unbelievable. I will speak to Prince Khalid and Andre,
but I would imagine he's through for the
season, as he will be kept in training as a four-year-old. It's
fantastic for Juddmonte and for DANSILI, who has
had a tremendous year."Rail Link's dam Docklands, who resides at
Banstead Manor, has the two-year-old
colt Crossharbour (GB) (Zamindar), a yearling colt by Oasis Dream
(GB) and a 2006 filly by Barathea (Ire).
Date:
02 October 2006