Drakenstein Stud’s Cartier Champion Duke Of Marmalade enjoyed an excellent season in South Africa in 2018/19, and the five time Gr1 winning son of Danehill was once again to the fore on Sunday – this time in France.
Marmelo – conisstent and classy son of Duke Of Marmalade
Duke Of Marmalade’s remarkable son Marmelo picked up the fifth group win of his career, and his seventh win overall, when he won the Gr2 Darley Prix Kergorlay – a race he won in 2017 and finished second in last year – at Deauville on Sunday.
The ever-green six-year-old, sent off a 4-5 favourite for Sunday’s G2 race, had finished an unlucky second in the G2 Prix Maurice de Nieul last time out –but made amends impressively on Sunday.
Reunited with Christophe Soumillon once more, Marmelo looked the class act in the race – and so it proved, with Soumillon sitting motionless as he cruised through the field early in the straight.
Second in the corresponding race 12 months ago, and winner in 2017, he struck the front and gained a decisive advantage over the rest – which was to prove crucial. In the end, the Hughie Morrison trained Marmelo accounted for 2018 Gr1 Qatar Prix du Cadran winner Call The Wind by three-parts of a length.
The entire, runner up in the 2018 Gr1 Lexus Melbourne Cup and winner of the G3 John Porter Stakes earlier this year, has banked in excess of £1 000 000 and is now likely to head back to Australia for another tilt at the Melbourne Cup.
Morrison said after Sunday’s win, “It was a perfect, nice run. He won it a bit cosily – and it’s off to Melbourne now, I hope. He’s broken two track records, so ground doesn’t matter. He’s a very good horse.”
Marmelo is one of 42 stakes winners sired by Duke Of Marmalade thus far, with the latter’s progeny having already banked in excess of $37 000 000.
