'Speedy' Earns First Top-Level Win in Romanet

Speedy Boarding and jockey Freddy Tylicki posted their first victories at the highest level when they captured the Darley Prix Jean Romanet (Fr-I) for older fillies and mares Aug. 21 at Deauville.

Settled just off the pace and always within striking distance, Speeding Board unleashed a powerful stretch rally to win by 1 3/4 lengths from Ame Bleue. The daughter of Shamardal provided trainer James Fanshawe a second winner of the race in three years following Ribbons' victory two years earlier.

Speedy Boarding cruised to the lead three furlongs out, went clear nearing the final eighth of a mile, and stayed on to score. She rebounded from her disappointing fifth in the Pretty Polly Stakes (Ire-I) June 26 at the Curragh. Ame Bleue outfinished Steip Amach by a head for second.

The final time for the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) race was 2:07.10 on turf rated good.

Fanshawe trains Speedy Boarding for Helena Springfield Ltd. She won for the second time in four starts this year after the Prix Corrida (Fr-II) May 29 at Saint-Cloud in her start prior to the Pretty Polly.

Bred in Great Britain by Meon Valley Stud from the stakes-winning Diktat mare Dash To The Front, Speedy Boarding also owns a win in the 2015 Ballymacoll Stud Stakes at Newbury. The 4-year-old filly's overall record stands at 4-1-1 from 10 starts.

"It's Freddy's first group I winner which is great," Fanshawe told Racing Post. "He rode her really nicely and got her in a good position. She has always been very talented but as you can see she's a big, tall filly who has taken her time to really come into herself.

"I think maybe I ran her back a bit quick when she was a little flat in the Pretty Polly in Ireland. On her day she's really good and I thought she won decisively today."

Darley sire Shamardal has 11 individual group winners this year, including including Blue Point, who won the Gimcrack (gr. II) at York Aug. 20, and group I winners Tryster and Dariyan. His juvenile daughter Alrahma finished second to Lady Aurelia in the Prix Morny (Fr-I) one race earlier on Sunday's card at Deauville.