Fabre`s favourite filly looks a banker

Falmouth Stakes favourite Golden Lilac looks like the banker of Newmarket`s July Festival and, with bookmakers offering around the even-money mark about Andre Fabre`s filly, she warrants a bet in the feature event of the second day.

Fabre has trained some great horses over the past quarter of a century so when this lawyer and son of a diplomat came out two months ago and hailed Golden Lilac as the best filly that he has trained, the racing world was taken aback.

The performance that prompted Fabre to acclaim Golden Lilac as his favourite female ever was her three-quarter-length defeat of the world`s third ranked thoroughbred, Cirrus Des Aigles, over nine furlongs at Longchamp seven weeks ago.

Despite pulling hard in the early stages, Golden Lilac was sufficiently good to quicken p ast Cirrus Des Aigles in the final furlong and run on strongly to beat the horse whom handicappers rate behind only Frankel and Black Caviar.

That was Golden Lilac`s seasonal reappearance - Cirrus Des Aigles had raced in 2012 three times previously - and it resulted in her sixth win from seven starts. At three she won both the French 1,000 Guineas and the French Oaks and, according to Fabre and many other good judges, she had excuses for placing third behind Galikova at Deauville.

Because of the hype surrounding Frankel, Black Caviar and three-time classic winner Camelot, Golden Lilac has not received the same level of attention that she would have done had there not been other superstars to promote.

Golden Lilac could turn out to be very special indeed and, having won on soft ground several times, she is unopposable in the Falmouth Stakes over Newmarket`s mile course.

There are question marks about every one of Golden Lilac`s 10 opponents, starting with second favourite Maybe. Aidan O`Brien`s three-year-old filly was unbeaten in three races as a juvenile but he was beaten 10 lengths in the English 1,000 Guineas and nearly four lengths in the English Oaks.

Maybe has not run since placing fifth behind her Ballydoyle stablemate Was at Epsom despite being entered in several events. Even if Maybe`s form since turning three is not a worry then her recent absence from the racecourse is.

On a line through Cirrus Des Aigles, Giofra has a lot to find with Golden Lilac and Royal Ascot winner Joviality probably could do with more than a mile on better ground than that which is forecast for Newmarket`s meeting.

Twenty years ago Fabre trained Zafonic to win the English 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket in a time that broke a course record that had stood for 45 years. He started at 10-11 and won by four lengths in a breathtaking display of speed.

Golden Lilac could jump from the Newmarket stalls at around the same odds as Zafonic did in 1992 and win every bit as impressively given the regard in which Fabre holds her and the quality of field that she encounters on the track.

The Falmouth Stakes is one of two Group races on the Newmarket card, with the other one being the Cherry Hinton Stakes, a Group Two contest for fillies over six furlongs.

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13/07/2012     © Frixo 2024