FIFTH GR.1 WINNER FOR HASILI

Article taken from the EBN

Juddmonte Farms’ Champs Elysees just held on from the German challenger Quijano (Acatenango) to land the fourth and biggest prize of his career in Sunday’s Gr.1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine. The five-year old also took his earnings past the $1m barrier with his victory in the 12-furlong contest.

The win looked in the bag as the Garrett Gomez-ridden bay took the lead in the middle of the track but Quijano made a late rally against the rail and only went down by the narrowest of margins.

A twice Gr.3-placed maiden winner at three, Champs Elysees won the Gr.3 Prix d`Hedouville at Longchamp in the spring of last year as well as the Gr.2 San Marcos Stakes at Santa Anita in January 2008. He has been placed three times at Gr.1 level, including seconds in the Gran Premio del Jockey Club and Hollywood Turf Cup. Champs Elysees is now the fifth Gr.1 winner produced by the remarkable Hasili (Kahyasi), following his full-siblings Banks Hill, Intercontinental and Cacique, plus close relative Heat Haze. Hasili, a Listed winner in France, has a yearling filly by Storm Cat and a filly foal by Empire Maker.

A small handful of mares have produced four individual Gr.1 winners, including Fall Aspen, Dahlia and Toussaud, but the Australian-based Eight Carat is the only other mare to have bred five in a major racing country since the introduction of the Pattern in the early 1970s.

She bred the top level winners Octagonal, Kaapstad, Mouawad, Diamond Lover and Marquise. Meanwhile in Argentina, Chaldee (Banner Sport), has produced five Gr.1 winners among her six Group winning offspring. Back at Woodbine, Danehill Dancer’s daughter Callwood Dancer, formerly with Barry Hills, went down by a length to J’Ray (Distant View) in the Gr.2 Canadian Stakes. The four-year-old was a Gr.2 winner at Woodbine last time out.

Date: 09 September 2008