July 5th was another succesful day for the Clement Stable - when the racetrack in Compiegne provided the venue for not one, but two winning celebrations: First it was the 2yo Inscrutable (Arch), who opened his account with the best possible outcome when winning the Prix du Putois under Thierry Thulliez for his owner/breeder Catherine Wills. The attractive juvenile, still a big baby, is closely related to Gr1 Dubai World Cup runner-up Dynever (Dynaformer) and was bred at the Hancock familie's famous Claiborne Farm in Kentucky.
After that it was My Boy Davis' (Whipper) turn: He fought on to win a claiming contest over 2400m by a nose in the capable hands of apprentice Caramanolis. The colt, owned by Mr Raymond Tooth had already won a similar event on June 27th at Saint Cloud, and thus is prove in the pudding for 'the  French racing paradise': within 8 days - in lesser company - he managed to earn his connections more than Euros 30,000!

A week that started with a place on the Podium of the Gr1 Prix du Jockey Club for Pain Perdu (Vespone), got even better when the stable could book in with a double only two days later: First it was Lady O'Reilly's filly Lake Palace (Nayef) - already a runner-up in Listed company twice last year - who fought on bravley to carry away her first win at that level in the Listed Prix Urban Sea in the hands of Jockey Franck Blondel. Shortly thereafter it was Allesson (Ransom O'War) who broke his duck in fine style for his owner/breeder Dietmar Hilgert in the Prix du Viroflay at Longchamp. This colt, who might head for the Gr1 Grand Prix du Paris or the Gr1 German Derby via a Listed contest is an exciting prospect for the future - just as his contemporary Big Easy,who represents the same owner/sire combination. 

A truly international team assembled on sunday to cheer home Pain Perdu, who recently changed ownership, in the Gr1 Prix du Jockey Club: Margaret Ferguson, the horse's 'original' owner flew in especially from the States, while new owner Hans Gerd Wernicke filled a small plane with Germans and Australians - breeders Hubert and Claire flew the French flag and jockey Frankie Dettori added a pinch of Italian spice...
And though it wasn't quite enough to win, a third place in the French Derby was an excellent result!
Pain Perdu, whose name means 'French Toast' in English was out to show the world what he is made of: supplemented just three days before the race, he had drawn stall 18, one of the less desirable gates on the outside in a bigger than usual field. He was quick to break though and was never far from the leaders. Tiring a little about 150m from the post, he was briefly headed before his fighting instinct kicked in and he found another gear to claw back at his rivals.
He finished a fantastic third, beaten less than a length by the second horse home.
A toast to Pain Perdu, the fighter - and a toast to the team in the stable who make it all possible!  

The stable celebrated a double on Tuesday 25th of May: first off was Matreshka (Statue of Liberty),who had been the stable's first 2yo runner. Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, she was first to greet the judge at the second time of asking, winning the Prix de Puycharic at Angers in good style for her owners - 'Red Square' - a nice Russian syndicate managed by Marc-Antoine Bergracht. Thus far Matreshka has earned her connections 19,950 Euros in Prizemoney and premiums.

On the same day it was a case of 'bittersweet victory'  when Good Bye My Friend (Kendor) won the 'Prix Always Earnest' at Compiegne easily for his owner Gerard Augustin Normand before being subsequently claimed: Good Bye My Friend had been a great campaigner for the stable - amassing no less than 140,000 Euros in an astonishing 2yo career which also saw him placed in the Listed Prix Herod. Tough as nails, this old stable favourite had been bought for a mere 25,000 Euros as a yearling by Bruno Ridoux and has served as a good 'reminder' of this great man who has since passed away.
Good Bye My Friend - we wish you luck!...
 
 

Capricorn Stud bred Big Easy (Ransom O'War) made it a perfect 'two from two' when winning his second race, the Prix des Vosges over 2350m in fine style at Strasbourg last Saturday . Despite encountering some traffic problems during the race, the impressive bay won going away in very promising fashion and did it easier than the winning margin alone might suggest. On to bigger and better things from here on out!  

Already a winner this season, Akarlina (Martaline) once again delighted connections when beating a large field of handicappers in Lyon in the Grand Prix Onet Securite. Defying top weight this filly dispersed any doubts when battling on well to win and will now take a step up in class and try her luck in Listed company for her next start in June.

While it is still a little over a week to go until the actual running of the French Guineas - there was a distinctly 'French' feeling just across the channel last weekend in Newmarket where both editions of the English Guineas fell to 'les Frenchies':  Makfi and Special Duty, both of whom are trained on the familiar tracks of Chantilly, managed to carry away the trophies from underneath the noses of their English and Irish trained counterparts. What a result! Congratulations to all connections!

Meanwhile a little closer to home, we had a couple of potential classic pointers ourselves:

First and foremost there was Pain Perdu (Vespone) - ultraconsistent and never out of the money, this great battler - owned by Margaret Ferguson and bred by Hubert Honore - missed out by just a neck on the GR3 Prix La Force Derby Trial. The sectional times were the best of the day and a fabulous last 400m in an astounding 22 seconds flat ensured that Pain Perdu did the stable proud coming home a red-hot runner-up.

Before that Ecurie Kazak's Persiste et Signe (With Approval) ran a very encouraging second in the Listed Prix Suresnes on April 19. The Haras de Bourgeauville bred did extremely well, despite running a touch green and showing a little immaturity when he had to get down to battle. He could go for another race inbetween, but his target will be the Gr2 Prix Eugene Adam in late July.

And then of course - no less important than the above - there are the 'bread-and-butter' winners who deserve a mention as much as their more glamorous counterparts:
The 4yo Grand Nordique (Grand Slam) got off the mark when winning the Prix de la Huchette at Longchamp, in the process earning no less than Euro 9,000 for Ecurie Mister Ess A.S., while Big Easy (Ransom O'War) battled on well to win on his debut at Nantes for owner/trainer Nicolas Clement.