The Group I Prix Jean Prat (7f) at Deauville overnight was supposed to be an easy target for Godolphin’s two time Group I winning Dubawi colt Modern Games, but the drop in distance proved less than ideal with victory going to a filly.
Winner of the French 2000 Guineas and third to Vadeni in the French Derby, Modern Games was coming back to 7f and could not sprint quickly enough with the Aidan O’Brien trained filly Tenebrism showing her class to score a length and a quarter win for Ryan Moore with the race favourite back in fifth place.
From the first crop of Scat Daddy’s brilliant Group I winning son Caravaggio, Tenebrism won the Group I Cheveley Park Stakes (6f) at her second start last year and her two runs this year have produced an eighth in the Group I Newmarket 1000 Guineas and fourth in the Group I Royal Ascot Coronation Stakes.
“She went to Newmarket for the Guineas and the ground was very fast,” said Ryan Moore.
“She never got into any rhythm but ran a good race at Ascot. She was still a bit green and struggled around the bend but finished well. Today, it was nice to come to a level track on nice ground. She had to wait for a gap but as soon as she got a bit of room she accelerated through it like a motorbike.”
Retained to race by Merriebelle Stables and Coolmore partners, Tenebrism is a three-quarter sister to this season’s exciting two year-old filly Statuette, the first stakes-winner for her sire Justify when winning the Group II Curragh Airlie Stud Stakes.
Tenebrism and Statuette are the best of four winners from dual Group I winning Pivotal mare Immortal Verse, whose stakes-winning dam Side of Paradise is a half-sister to champion sire Last Tycoon.
Tenebrism is the second Group I winner of the weekend for the Scat Daddy sireline with Group I Darley July Cup winner Alcohol Free sired by another of his sons in No Nay Never.
Tenebrism is the best of seven stakes-winners for Caravaggio, who shuttled to Australia for just one season with his oldest progeny here being two year-olds. He was based in Kentucky for Coolmore this year at a fee of US$35,000.
