Tac de Boistron Repeats in French St. Leger
Description:
Tac de Boistron overtook pacesetter High Jinx in the final furlong and struck for a repeat win in the Prix Royal-Oak (Fr-I, French St. Leger) Oct. 26 at Longchamp.
The 12/5 favorite for a second straight victory after posting a handy five-length win last year, Tac de Boistron bested High Jinx by one length and covered 3,100 meters (about 1 15/16 miles) in 3.32.73 on very soft turf.
Martin Harley settled Tac de Boistron in midfield as High Jinx dictated the pace until inside the final furlong but could match the winner in the deciding stage. Narrow Hill was third, just a nose behind High Jinx in the field of 13.
Tac de Boistron, a 7-year-old Take Risks gelding trained by Marco Botti, did not race for six months after last year's Royal-Oak win. He returned April 20 at Ascot and won the Longines Sagaro Stakes (Eng-II) before finishing second by a neck in the Yorkshire Cup (Eng-II) May 16. He was off for more than five months before pocketing this year's edition of the race.
"He's come back here after a long layoff and he's just routed them again," Harley told Racing Post. "He came there traveling very smoothly and I didn't want to get there too soon after a long time off and on that ground. What a horse.
"We went a nice gallop and I even felt we could have gone a step quicker. It doesn't matter what way you ride him, when he quickens he's like a seven-furlong or a mile horse."
Tac de Boistron is campaigned by Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock. He was bred in France by Isabelle Reverseau. His dam is the Sicyos mare Pondiki