Goldikova (IRE) Wins G1-Prix Rothschild For Fourth Time

Goldikova (IRE) shook off her defeat to Canford Cliffs (IRE) at Royal Ascot to post her fourth consecutive victory in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville in France.  According to the Racing Post, Goldikova's next race will likely be the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville or the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, depending on how the ground comes up. From there she will likely run in the Prix de la Foret during the Arc Festival before coming over the the U.S. to seek her fourth consecutive victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

The Prix Rothschild turned out to be a relatively easy race for the champion mare regardless of the final margin of a short neck.  Goldikova sat in a perfect stalking position behind pacesetter Flash Dance (IRE) through decent early fractions before steadily gaining ground with a little over a quarter mile to go.  A little inside the two furlong mark, Goldikova was asked to pick it up to which she easily moved to the lead while the rest of the field was under heavy pressure from their riders.  Never touched with the whip the entire time and receiving just a light hand-ride inside the final 1/2 furlong, Goldikova finished a short neck ahead of Sahpresa, and a little over two lengths clear of 3rd place finisher Timepiece (GB).

Prior to the Prix Rothschild, Sahpresa won the Group 3 Prix de Palais-Royal at Longchamp and finished second to Timepiece in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket.

Chart (via the  Racing Post)

(Have I mentioned how much I love the fact that French racing has fractional times over the past year? Wonderful.)

Prix Rothschild Fractions:
3/8: 37.58
5/8: 1:00.28
3/4: 1:11.70
7/8: 1:22.67
Finish: 1:34.80

Internal Splits:
3/8: 37.58
5/8: 22.70
3/4: 11.43
7/8: 10.97
Finish: 11.63

The course was rated as GOOD at Deauville today but that didn't prevent Goldikova from turning in her usual devastating turn of foot when it came time to run.  The last three furlongs went in in a sizzling 34.02, including a sub :11-second furlong between the 400 and 200 meter marks. Looking at the splits, the only part of the race that was slow was the opening 3/8th of a mile, after that the pace was   And, as in the case of a lot of her races, Goldikova did all of this without serious pressure from her rider.

Video replay...with French commentary.