Zarigana takes Pouliches in stewards' room to give Francis-Henri Graffard back-to-back wins

South China Morning Post

12-05-2025

Mickael Barzalona was on target in the Group One Poule d'Essai des Poulains (1,600m). Photo: Kenneth Chan
Zarigana snatched the Group One Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (1,600m) in the stewards' room for Francis-Henri Graffard to deny Charlie Fellowes his first Group One success with British raider Shes Perfect.
Sent off the $1.8 favourite, Zarigana was settled in midfield by Mickael Barzalona and looked to be travelling ominously well as Shes Perfect led the field into the straight.
Shes Perfect was all heart under pressure, but drifted to her left in the final furlong and gave a small bump to both Exactly and Zarigana, who was making her challenge down the middle of the track.
Zarigana wins the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in the stewards' room! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/qTNAVTJ8Vm — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 11, 2025
Kieran Shoemark managed to eek out enough aboard Shes Perfect to scramble home, but the stewards deemed there to be sufficient contact to uphold a protest and provide Graffard with a second straight French 1,000 Guineas.
Zarigana headlined a one-three for the trainer, who also had Mandanaba finish third ahead of Aidan O'Brien's Exactly, who was squeezed out approaching the final 100m.
There were no such hard luck stories for O'Brien in the Group One Poule d'Essai des Poulains (1,600m), with the $3.4 favourite Henri Matisse breaking the track record on the way to a second top-level success.
Henri Matisse takes the Poule d'Essai des Poulains!🏆 pic.twitter.com/1kMw0I4Z7N — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 11, 2025
It was a typically cool ride by Ryan Moore, who settled the Wootton Bassett colt towards the rear before making his challenge with 500m left.
Once hitting top gear, the pair sprinted into the lead in the final 100m and fended off a late challenge from fellow Briton Jonquil to win by a rapidly diminishing head.
It was a race dominated by the British and Irish, with five of the top six home trained on that side of the English Channel.
【🇯🇵 NHK Mile Cup (G1), Tokyo, 1600m, 3yo No Geldings, approx US$ 2m】
Winner: Panja Tower(JPN)
J: Kohei Matsuyama
T: Shinsuke Hashiguchi
Sire: Tower of London
Dam: Clarksdale#NHKマイルカップ は、#パンジャタワー が優勝！！ pic.twitter.com/nj7yoYk7kw — JRA World Racing (@JRA_WorldRacing) May 11, 2025
Meanwhile, Panja Tower caused a $45 shock in the Group One NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo Racecourse, fending off Magic Sands to win for in-form trainer Shinsuke Hashiguchi.
Kohei Matsuyama found himself buried away in midfield after the break aboard Panja Tower and when the field turned for home, he was forced to make his challenge wide. That proved no barrier to success, however, as they thundered down the outside to complete the boilover.
The $2.6 favourite, Admire Zoom, was a bitter disappointment, with the Group One Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (1,600m) winner only managing 14th of 18 runners.