New Bay, Karaktar Among 14 for French Derby
Description:
Juddmonte's New Bay will look to go one better than his French Guineas runner-up finish in the Prix du Jockey Club (Fr-I, French Derby) May 31 at Chantilly.
New Bay was a closing second to runaway winner Make Believe, a stablemate in trainer Andre Fabre's barn, in the Prix d'Essai des Poulains (Fr-I, French Two Thousand Guineas) May 10 at Longchamp, finishing three lengths back in second in the mile race.
The Dubawi colt, who will stretch out to 2,100 meters (about 1 5/16 miles) for the French Derby, was making his stakes debut in the French Guineas after finishing second in his debut last November at Chantilly and then winning his 2015 debut in a conditions race April 20 at Longchamp. Vincent Cheminaud has the mount from post 13 in the 14-horse field.
Just to New Bay's inside is Karaktar, who will try to provide a seventh win in the race to the Aga Khan and trainer Alain de Royer Dupre. The High Chaparral colt, who will be ridden by Christophe Soumillon, has won both starts this year, most recently the Prix Noailles (Fr-III) by 3 1/2 lengths April 20 at Longchamp.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien is seeking his first French Derby win with a three-horse team that includes Highland Reel (post 9, Joseph O'Brien), sixth in the French Guineas; multiple stakes-placed War Envoy (post 8, Colm O'Donoghue), who was seventh in the French Guineas; and Cape Clear Island (post 7, Ryan Moore), runner-up in the Prix Hocquart (Fr-I) May 10.
The field also includes Qatar Racing's Prix Greffulhe Sumbal (post 5, Andrea Atzeni), who is unbeaten in three career starts; Joseph Allen's Prix de Guiche (Fr-III) winner War Dispatch (post 1, Ioritz Mendizabal); Muteb bin Abdullah's French listed winner Mostaneer (post 3, Thierry Thulliez); Hspirit's Prix La Force (Fr-III) victor Silverwave (post 2, Adrien Fouassier); and Patrick Taul's Piment Rouge (post 10, Alexis Badel), twice a minor French stakes winner who was third in the Prix de Guiche.