Diego Velazquez sold ahead of Jacques le Marois start

North Wales Chronicle

10 hours ago

He will remain in training with Aidan O'Brien for the remainder of the 2025 season, with a view to retiring to the National Stud in Newmarket at the end of the year. He will wear the famous silks of the late Robert Sangster in the Marois.
A Group-race winner at two, three and four, most recently in the Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh, Diego Velazquez will bid for a first Group One success at Deauville this weekend, where he will be ridden by Christophe Soumillon.
Purchasing the horse for a 'high-profile' syndicate, Sangster said: 'He is a horse that leaves little to the imagination, he is the stamp of his father and a top-class racehorse to match.
'He's done it at Group Two level across three seasons and was Classic-placed (fourth in the French 2000 Guineas), which gives him a rare depth of form and longevity.
'The Jacques le Marois is the immediate target, and from there we have a number of exciting Group One races to consider, we are in world-class hands in that respect.
'With the strength of the ownership group and the National Stud behind him, this horse has every chance of being a major success both on the track and at stud we believe he will be very well received by European breeders.'
Diego Velazquez will join the stallion roster at the National Stud for the 2026 breeding season, with further details to be announced in due course, and Sangster said: 'We've been on the hunt for a horse like this for some time, and I'd like to thank the team at Coolmore for giving us the opportunity to get involved with a colt of his calibre.'
Soumillon's mount is one of 10 left in the Marois, with O'Brien also responsible for former Derby favourite The Lion In Winter and Rosallion (Richard Hannon), Notable Speech (Charlie Appleby) and Dancing Gemini (Roger Teal) representing British interests.
Sangster added: 'He'll be running in the Sangster family colours, which will be one for the old romantics and it is very exciting, that is for sure.
'It will be a very exciting weekend for us with Rashabar running in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano on Saturday and Christophe Soumillon is booked to ride both.'
The Lion In Winter has raced over a variety of distances this season, finishing sixth on his belated reappearance in the Dante Stakes at York over a mile and a quarter before coming home 14th of 18 over a mile and a half in the Derby.
He performed far better when a close-up third in the Prix Jean Prat over seven furlongs last time and O'Brien is looking forward to seeing him tackle what he feels could be his optimum trip.
'Everything seems good with The Lion In Winter. Obviously he started back this year late, we just tried to get a run into him for the Derby and he ran in the Dante and looked pacey,' he told Sky Sports Racing.
'You're never sure and he obviously went to the Derby and it was very apparent very quickly that he was probably a miler the way he went through the race.
'We had our eye on this race, but we felt we had to get a run into him over a shorter distance before he went and the Deauville race was perfect. It was three-year-olds only, we knew he wouldn't be fully primed up for it as it was first run back after going back a mile and a half over seven furlongs, so we were delighted with the run.
'He ran a lovely race, we've been very happy with him since and we're looking forward to running him over the mile as it's a distance that's going to really suit him we think.
'We weren't expecting him to run that well on his first run back at a shorter distance, but we felt to go to the race on Sunday he had to have a run like that.'
Of Diego Velazquez, he added: 'He hasn't really had the rub of the green, little things have held him up.
'We always felt that he was a miler, we were very happy with his run the last day over seven furlongs which we thought was tight enough for him.
'He's very well and has made great progress since his last run. We're looking forward to seeing what he can do as the track and the trip and ground should suit him.'