Group I racing in France overnight at Chantilly delivered success for Sottsass and Tawkeel and while neither are sired by the mighty Galileo, he does feature prominently in the pedigrees of both.
Last year’s French Derby winner Sottsass finished third in the Group I Arc de Triomphe at the end of 2020 before returning with a third placing last month in the Group II Prix d’Harcourt at Longchamp.
Fitter for this assignment, the Jean-Claude Rouge trained four year-old was sent out favourite and scored a head win in the Group I Prix Ganay (2100m) taking his overall record to five wins from nine starts.
A 340,000 euro purchase from Arqana, Sottsass is a half-brother by Siyouni to Group I winner Sistercharlier and Group III winner Sister Nat being the best of three winners from Galileo mare Starlet’s Sister.
Posting her first stakes win on the same program was unbeaten Teofilo filly Tawkeel, who won the Group I Prix Saint Alary (1800m) by a length at her first attempt on turf.
A homebred for Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell Stud, the Jean-Claude Rouge trained filly only started racing in January, winning her first two starts before pandemic enforced lockdown and then scoring at Deauville before this success.
She is the first winner for stakes-winning Oasis Dream mare Rafaadah, a daughter of High Chaparral’s brilliant Group II winning sprinter miler Joanna.
Carrying a double cross of Sadler’s Wells as does world champion mare Enable, Tawkeel is the 91st stakes-winner for Galileo’s high class son Teofilo and is his 17th Group I winner.
Teofilo shuttled to Australia for a number of seasons for Darley and his multiple Group I winning son Palentino stands at Sun Stud in Victoria.
