With most of the posturing now complete and less than two weeks to go to the Gr1 Investec Oaks and Gr1 Derby, all that remains is the decision-making.
Bernard Kantor
Emma Berry writes on www..thoroughbreddailynews.com that while hope is still high that the Triple Crown dream will be upheld at Epsom, several horses have impressed within the last fortnight, with the very taking performance of Bernard Kantor’s Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) in the Gr3 Chester Vase lingering longest in the mind.
It was impossible not to feel that the colt could pose a really credible threat to Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) as one watched him extricate himself from the melee at Chester which, admittedly, is a far cry from the Epsom Downs but every bit as quirky for such an unseasoned horse.
He will have learned plenty from his second victory of the season and would be a worthy winner, not just for his owner whose firm has put so much into supporting the Derby meeting over the last decade, but also for the often unheralded Elisabeth Fabre, who bred Young Rascal and also plays such a key role in her husband’s training operation.
Andre Fabre
Andre Fabre has already claimed his own slice of Derby history via the 2011 winner Pour Moi (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), who went on to sire last year’s victor Wings Of Eagles (Fr).
Victory for Young Rascal would also be beneficial to two studs–Haras du Quesnay and Cheveley Park Stud–which have shared hosting duties for Intello since his retirement in 2014.
The Gr1 Prix du Jockey Club winner is currently back in Newmarket and the day after Young Rascal lines up at Epsom, another of his sons, the Fabrice Chappet-trained Intellogent (Fr), looks likely to bid to emulate his father at Chantilly.
-www.throughbreddailynews.com
