Europe’s leading first-season sire Shamardal enjoyed yet another good day with first and third in the Listed Snowhite Stakes at Sandown in Australia and a placed runner in the final Group One race of the European turf season.
Marquardt, now three and a member of Shamardal’s first southern hemisphere crop, which includes recent VRC Oaks winner Faint Perfume, was denied Group Two success as a juvenile by the shortest of heads in the Magic Night Stakes but added a Listed success to her tally on Saturday in the 1400m Snowhite Stakes. Less than a length behind her in third was another daughter of Shamardal, Happy Hippy. Marquardt was bred in New Zealand by Little Avondale Trust.
In Europe, where his runners include G3 Solario Stakes and Goffs Million winner Shakespearean, Shamardal added another black type horse to his list when Zazou took third in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud behind Godolphin’s runaway winner Passion For Gold, by Darley America stallion Medaglia d'Oro.
There was also French Stakes action at Marseille Borely, where consistent Slickly entire Gris de Gris landed the Listed Grand Prix de Marseille over 2000m. The five-year-old, who was bred by his owner Jean-Claude Seroul, was runner-up in the G2 Prix Dollar this autumn and also ran second in the G1 Prix d’Ispahan after winning the G3 Prix Edmond Blanc earlier this year. He won the G2 Prix de Muguet last season and took second place in the same race in May.
