Natagora Stays All The Way to 1000 Guineas Triumph
04/05/08

1st 10 Natagora 11/4 FAV
2nd 14 Spacious 11/2
3rd 12 Saoirse Abu 20/1

Any fears that the speedy Natagora would not stay the mile test of the stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas were firmly rebuffed when the statuesque grey filly made all to claim victory.

The Divine Light French-bred, who first advertised her talents to a British audience when winning the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes at The Natwest Rowley Mile last September, was sent off the 11/4 favourite and was the second French Group winner of the day following Getaway’s triumph in the stanjamesuk.com Jockey Club Stakes.

Her trainer Pascal Bary, whose Six Perfections was second to Russian Rhythm in the 1000 Guineas in 2003, said: “I was confident that she would get the mile after she ran so well over seven furlongs at Maisons-Laffitte. Christophe and I would have preferred to have had two or three horses in front of us but she started to race and she had to do the job. Not only does she have speed but she is brave.”

Commenting on his previous disappointment in the race, when Six Perfections veered wide of the pack, the trainer said: “Six Perfections went on to win the Jacques le Marois and the Breeders’ Cup so we forgot about that. This is a different race.”

Asked when Natagora might be seen again in the UK, he said: “She will tell me. She’s in the Irish 2,000 Guineas but we will wait and see. She’s done everything right so far and I don’t want to do anything wrong.”

Bloodstock agent Patrick Barbe, who bought the filly for her owner Stefan Friborg and was representing him in his absence, said: “Her owner is at home recovering from surgery. He listened to the race live and is so pleased. This is wonderful.”

Position	Horse Trainer	Jockey Weight	Starting Price Beaten Distance
1	Natagora P Bary	C P Lemaire 9st 0lbs	11 - 4 Winner
2	Spacious J R Fanshawe	J P Spencer 9st 0lbs	11 - 2 1/2 length
3	Saoirse Abu J S Bolger	K J Manning 9st 0lbs	20 - 1 1/2 length
4	Infallible J H M Gosden	J Fortune 9st 0lbs	7 - 2 Neck
5	Nahoodh M R Channon	R Hughes 9st 0lbs	33 - 1 Head
6	Lush Lashes J S Bolger	K McEvoy 9st 0lbs	40 - 1 1/2 length
7	Royal Confidence B W Hills	M Hills 9st 0lbs	66 - 1 1/2 length
8	Muthabara J L Dunlop	R Hills 9st 0lbs	8 - 1 3/4 length
9	Kitty Matcham A P O'Brien	J Murtagh 9st 0lbs	8 - 1 2 1/2 lengths
10	Savethisdanceforme A P O'Brien	R L Moore 9st 0lbs	12 - 1 2 3/4 lengths
11	Max One Two Three Tom Dascombe	R Kingscote 9st 0lbs	33 - 1 2 lengths
12	Lady Deauville P A Blockley	S Pasquier 9st 0lbs	66 - 1 4 1/2 lengths
13	Laureldean Gale Saeed bin Suroor	L Dettori 9st 0lbs	14 - 1 2 lengths
14	Spinning Lucy B W Hills	William Buick 9st 0lbs	100 - 1 3/4 length
15	Francesca d'Gorgio J Noseda	T E Durcan 9st 0lbs	80 - 1 9 lengths

 

FANSHAWE, BOLGER AND GOSDEN HAPPY

The connections of Spacious, Saoirse Abu and Infallible - second, third and fourth respectively in the Group One £375,000 stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas all expressed their satisfaction after the 195th running of the fillies’ Classic.

James Fanshawe, who trained the half-length runner-up Spacious, said: “She ran very well. Jamie (Spencer) said she just needed a stronger pace.

“She will not be going up in trip and is not a mile and a half filly.

“We will just see how she comes out of this before making any plans. It was always the plan to come straight here.”

A further half-length back in third was Irish raider Saoirse Abu, whose trainer Jim Bolger also saddled the sixth home Lush Lashes.

Bolger commented: “I am very pleased with both of them.

“Kevin (Manning) came back and said with another furlong Saoirse Abu might have got there and Kerrin McEvoy said Lush Lashes could have done with further. Did I run them over the wrong trip? They just needed a bit more real estate!”

Speaking about yesterday’s stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas runner-up New Approach, Bolger added: “He is home now and ate up last night. He had some light exercise this morning. It’s onwards and upwards.”

John Gosden, trainer of the fourth filly home Infallible, said: “She ran great.

“It is unfortunate both Guineas have been run up the stands’ side whereas in the other races they have come down the middle. It becomes messy when they are all towards the rail.

“Infallible got a bump at half-way which set her alight and she pulled a bit hard, which she paid the price for.

“The winner deserved to win, she had the best form.

“Raven’s Pass (fourth in the stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas) has come back well from yesterday and will go for the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot, while Infallible will head for the Coronation Stakes at the same meeting.”

 

I WOULD HAVE WON SAYS RICHARD HUGHES

Richard Hughes, who finished fifth on Nahoodh, said he would have won the stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas if he had been able to get a run in the closing stages.

The jockey said: “I was really happy with my draw (6) and I was happy after going a furlong and a half.

“I had a great position at half-way, travelling well, and just when I was going to move up a place or two about the three-furlong pole she hit a flat spot. I had to let her come good - some people might have thought I was cruising.

“Then at the two-furlong pole, she came good again. I wanted her to bring me rather than the other way around after her race at Newbury. All the others have come left.

“Then I just ran up the ass of the winner. Nine times out of 10, they would have come off the rail when they heard the crowd. I was banking on them coming off the rail and could not go around them as they were six deep.

“I felt I would have won. Nahoodh can win at Ascot and make amends.”

 

“LIVING MY DREAM”

Christophe Lemaire, the winning jockey on Natagora, said: “I wanted to get a good position without too much effort.

“She gave all she had and is a fantastic filly.

“There are days when everything goes right and today was our day so we are all very lucky.

“I am very lucky on this track. For me, it was a dream to come to the Rowley Mile and see Pennekamp (1995) win the 2000 Guineas and today I am living my dream.

“For me, it is really something special to win on Natagora today.

“Every time I come here to Newmarket, I have a good horse and everything goes right for me, making good decisions and having the right plan.

“I hope this will continue for a long time.”

 

NATAGORA (FR) FACTFILE

3 gr f Divine Light (JPN) - Reinamixa (FR) (Linamix (FR))
Form: 2111121-11 Owner: Stefan Friborg
Trainer: Pascal Bary FR
Breeder: Bertrand Gouin & Georges Duca Jockey: Christophe Lemaire

Natagora
A brilliant juvenile with an abundance of speed, Natagora was picked up for a bargain 30,000 euros as a yearling by Patrick Barbe, acting on behalf of Stefan Friborg, at the Deauville Arqana sale in October 2006. The grey filly is by the high-class Japanese sprinter Divine Light out of the 10-furlong winner Reinamixa. Having finished second on her racecourse debut at Saint-Cloud in May, 2007, Natagora went on to score four straight wins at around five or five and a half furlongs, including the Group Two Prix Robert Papin in which she defeated the speedy colts Magritte and Strike The Deal. Natagora was stepped up to six furlongs for the Group One Darley Prix Morny at Deauville on August 19, but was no match for the classy Irish colt MyBoycharlie, as she finished two lengths second to that rival. Sent to Newmarket for her final juvenile outing, Natagora defeated the best English fillies over six furlongs in the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes. Sent to the lead, she was always holding the neck runner-up Fleeting Spirit. Many observers expressed doubts about such a speedy individual having the reserves of stamina to last a mile but Natagora banished some of those fears on her three-year-old bow at Maisons-Laffitte on April 14. Racing over seven furlongs for the first time and encountering heavy going, Natagora posted a classy victory as she pulled a length and a half clear of the smart Modern Look. He made all to win the stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas today.

Race Record: Starts: 9; 1st: 7; 2nd; 2 3rd-; Win And Place Prize Money: £498,757.50

Stefan Friborg
Swedish-born and Brazilian-based Stefan Friborg is Director General of Angola Drilling Company Lda, an oil and gas service company that provides a range of specialised related services and products to the petroleum industry. His best horse to date is Natagora, winner of five races last season including the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket. Friborg had seven horses running in his colours in France in 2007, with Natagora being the only winner. The exploits of his star filly placed him 55th in the French owner standings. His racing manager is Patrick Barbe who purchased Natagora at the Arqana Sale in 2006. Friborg and Barbe broke the sale record when buying a more than three-parts sister to Natagora for 330,000 euros at the same sale in 2007. The sibling is by Agnes Kamikaze, a three-parts brother to Natagora’s sire Divine Light. Unfortunately, Friborg is currently recovering from an operation and is unable to attend to travel from Brazil.

stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas winners - 2008-WON NATAGORA

 

Pascal Bary FR
Although based at Chantilly in France, Newmarket is certainly not unfamiliar territory for trainer Pascal Bary, who became assistant to Sir Mark Prescott in 1975. Bary, who was born on April 4, 1953, in the Paris suburb of Neuilly, where his father became mayor, went on to assist the great Francois Boutin in France for five years before taking out his own training licence in 1981. Helped by the patronage of major owners such as the Niarchos Family, Prince Khalid Abdulla and Lady Chryss O’Reilly, Bary has developed a formidable track record. Bary, whose relaxations include gardening, sailing, rugby, skiing and tennis, has won the French Derby five times (1994 Celtic Arms, 1996 Ragmar, 1998 Dream Well, 2002 Sulamani and 2004 Blue Canari). Dream Well also won the 1998 Irish Derby while he won the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Turf with Miss Alleged and the Breeders’ Cup Mile twice with Domedriver (2002) and Six Perfections (2003). The brilliant Six Perfections was unlucky in defeat behind Russian Rhythm in the 2003 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and went on to prove herself one of the best milers in the world with a victory in the Prix Jacques le Marois to complement her Breeders’ Cup triumph. An excellent domestic season in 2002, including a win for Six Perfections in the Prix Marcel Boussac, saw Bary finish just 200,000 euro behind Andre Fabre in the French trainers’ table. In the 2006 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, Bary’s elation at Price Tag’s victory was short-lived as the filly was disqualified and placed third. Zambezi Sun’s victory in the Group One Grand Prix de Paris was Bary’s biggest domestic success of the 2007 campaign, while Natagora landed a famous triumph at Newmarket in the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes. Stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas Record: 2003-2 Six Perfections; 2008-WON NATAGORA

Christophe Lemaire
Christophe-Patrice Lemaire was born on May 20, 1979 and is the son of legendary jump jockey Patrice Lemaire. He joined the pony club as a child and gained an amateur licence at 16. He started working part-time for trainer Michel Laborde, while continuing his studies. Hired as an apprentice by Andre Fabre at 18, he turned professional two years later. Lamaire spent the winter of 1999/2000 racing for the Godolphin stable in Dubai,and left Andre Fabre's completely in July, 2001, becoming freelance. Patrick Biancone provided rides for Lemaire in US, before he partnered 30 winners in India in late 2002,spending the following winter racing in Japan. His first Group winner was in August, 2002, when he partnered Cut Quartz to victory in the Prix de Kergorlay at Deauville. Lemaire now rides for a variety of trainers in France, but particularly associated with Pascal Bary and Alain de Royer-Dupre. The 28-year-old’s biggest wins have come in the Prix Marcel Boussac (2003 Denebola), Grand Prix de Paris (2003 Vespone), Prix Jean Prat (2003 Vespone), Prix Morny (2004 Divine Proportions), Prix Marcel Boussac (2004 Divine Proportions), QueenElizabeth II Stakes (2005 Starcraft), Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (2005 Divine Proportions), Prix de Diane Hermes (2005 Divine Proportions), Prixd'Astarte (2005 Divine Proportions), Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (2005 Starcraft), Arina Kinen (2005 Heart's Cry), Dubai Sheema Classic (2006Heart's Cry), Grand Prix de Saint Cloud (2006 Pride), Emirates Airline Champion Stakes (2006 Pride, 2007 Literato), Prix Saint-Alary (2007 Coquerelle) and Cheveley Park Stakes (2007 Natagora).

Stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas Record: 2007-16 Darrfonah; 2008-WON NATAGORA