What an end of race for Zelda (Zelzal) in this Prix Ventre Saint-Gris! The representative of Infinity Nine Horses (Tony Parker) and Benoît Jeffroy made a very big impression on her debut on the 1,200m at Saint-Cloud, establishing herself as a future Group filly. So we gave it a JDG Rising Star.
She was placed last of the field by her jockey, Coralie Pacaut. Gradually approaching outside in the final turn, Zelda attacked with 400m to go. She had passed most of her opponents in review, but had three more lengths to go on host De Velara (Zelzal), 200m from the finish. Coralie Pacaut slapped the filly and the filly kicked in to gain a clear advantage 50m from the post, winning three and a half lengths.
It is therefore a winning pair for the stud of Bouquetot Zelzal (Sea the Stars), already in the spotlight through Blushing, unbeaten in two outings in May under the training of Ludovic Gadbin. And a triple satisfaction for Benoît Jeffroy who is not only the co-owner and co-breeder of Zelda, but who is also the director of the Bouquetot stud! Pretext
Jean-Claude Rouget transforms the essay for Tony Parker. Zelda is Tony Parker's first starter under the training of Jean-Claude Rouget who turned the test into a masterstroke. The coach commented, “She went fast! The race was regular, nothing more. The filly ended up far away because of her stall number: we told Coralie Pacaut to hide her, to give her a school course. We knew it had quality but it had to be verified in the race, and it will have to be confirmed in the next ones. I knew she was galloping, but as we gallop the unreleased ones between them in the morning, it's hard to really see it clearly. She was showing a lot of speed and will be specializing in those races for now. It is Tony Parker's first starter in my training, that's great. It’s interesting to work with athletes. "
An association between Finistériens. Benoît Jeffroy, co-owner and co-breeder of Zelda, explained how he was associated with Infinity Nine Horses: “I asked Clément Troprès [the manager of Infinity Nine Horses, note] if we could meet, because I had seen that he came from Finistère like me! We organized a lunch, and wez did get on very well. At the end of the afternoon he asked me if I had something interesting for his team. I told her I kept a filly that I really liked, and it was Zelda. I raised her with my brother in Brittany. Between Brittany and Normandy, we have two structures. Well done to my brother too, because he did all the work. Unfortunately, we lost Zelda's dam in foaling this year. The filly makes us happy, it bodes well for the future. "
From San Antonio, Tony Parker said: “Coach Rouget warned us that this must be a quiet race for Zelda, a discovery of competition. I got up at 5 am to watch the race and was not disappointed with the result. I thank the Jeffroy brothers for the opportunity to be able to team up on this filly. You will learn in the series The Big Bet why it did not run at La Teste ... The victory of the day is only tastier. Now we're not going to ignite. We keep our feet on the ground, because everything goes very quickly in horse racing. The best and the worst. Congratulations to Jean-Claude Rouget, to his entire team and to Coralie Pacaut who will forever remain the first woman jockey to win a race for my team. "
Clément Troprès said: "We are really happy, especially as Jean-Claude Rouget told us that we are not running to win. The filly looks very pleasant, and Coralie Pacaut seems to like her very much. With Tony, we are aiming for the podiums, so everything is OK. My voice is broken a bit because I scream like in basketball, but the adrenaline rush of the races is really the aspect that makes us love this universe. Pushing in a straight line is a bit like putting a basket in the money-time in basketball, for me anyway. It's a big emotion. We have 10%, 20% or 40% of a horse and we feel like we are pushing with the jockey. That’s why we love racing. And having moments like that with coaches like Jean-Claude Rouget is great. Hope Tony can come to a racetrack this summer to see Zelda! "