CONNECTIONS of Mandesha, decisive winner of the Prix Vermeille on Sunday, are not alone in assessing the merits of a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Another who would have to be supplemented at a cost of €60,000 (about £40,000) is Youmzain, who chased home Rail Link in the Prix Niel on the same afternoon.
While a decision on Mandesha is not now expected until the end of the week, connections of Youmzain will dwell a little longer. The colt bypassed the St Leger for the Prix Niel, after which Rail Link, who prevailed over Youmzain by a half-length, was quoted as low as 5-1 by William Hill.
“We thought he ran exceptionally well on fast ground,” Bruce Raymond, racing manager to Jaber Abdullah, Youmzain’s owner, said yesterday. “The Arc is now under consideration but no decision will be made for a while yet. It’s encouraging that he is a better horse on easier ground.”
Raymond was speaking from Kentucky on the opening day of the Keeneland September Yearling sales. The world’s premier auction was barely two hours old before sparks flew over a son of Storm Cat. The colt went to $3 million (£1.6 million) before John Ferguson, managing director of Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley outfit, was able to claim the half-brother to Pulpit. Several more seven-figure lots are expected to change hands before the end of the week.