Sarah Lynx routs males in Canadian International

by Kellie Reilly

Mrs. Robert G. Ehrnrooth's Sarah Lynx humbled a strong cast of males when

springing a 22-1 upset in Sunday's Grade 1, $1,488,320

Canadian

International at Woodbine. Trained by John Hammond in France, the

lightly-raced four-year-old slipped through along the rail in the stretch and

spurted away by four lengths for Christophe Soumillon.

Although this fillies' trend is becoming increasingly familiar around the

globe, Sarah Lynx ranked as the first female winner of the Canadian

International since Infamy in 1988. She joins a roster that includes Drumtop

(1970), Dahlia (1974), All Along (1983) and River Memories (1987).

By far Sarah Lynx's biggest career victory, the romp handed her sire Montjeu

two doubles on the card. The Coolmore stallion was responsible for the Canadian

International exacta, with defending champion Joshua Tree a fine second. But

Montjeu also sired E.P. Taylor heroine Miss Keller, giving him a sweep of

Woodbine's Grade 1 turf routes on Sunday.

"For a filly to win like that here, you know it is phenomenal, really,"

Hammond's assistant Kate Bradley said. "Credit goes to Christophe (Soumillon)

because he knows the filly very, very well. He's got a great partnership with

her and my boss also, John (Hammond). We are just over the moon.

"He's (Soumillon) the best. He's the king." 

The smashing win provided a much-needed balm for Soumillon. On Saturday, he

was slapped with a £50,000 fine and a five-day

suspension for his winning ride aboard France's Cirrus des Aigles in the Group 1

Champion Stakes at Ascot, where he breached the controversial new whip

rule. No such unpleasant aftermath was in store at Woodbine.

Given a lovely ground-saving ride from her rail post, Sarah Lynx was buried

deep in the record 16-strong field. Up front, the pacesetter Kara's Orientation

slogged through splits of :25 2/5, :52, 1:17 3/5, 1:42 4/5 and 2:09 2/5 on the

yielding turf.

As the contestants fanned out for the stretch drive, the Canadian

International was completely up for grabs, and a protracted struggle appeared to

be in the offing. But once Soumillon pointed Sarah Lynx to the inviting seam

inside of Kara's Orientation, that impression was quickly dispelled.

Suddenly sprinting clear in a few strides, Sarah Lynx was gone by the time

that the other principals sorted themselves out. Joshua Tree stayed on valiantly

for a clear second, two lengths ahead of the 7-2 favorite Treasure Beach.

"It was a little bit messy," said Joshua Tree's rider, Adam Kirby. "Our horse

missed the gate (break). I'd have liked to have gotten out a little sooner than

I did, but it was blocked up there and you have to wait for the space to happen.

When it opened up, he quickened up good, but I think we just met one that was

too good on the day." 

"He jumped great," Colm O'Donoghue said of his trip aboard Treasure Beach,

"and he traveled really well. I had a great position turning in and he was

traveling so easy. He tried very hard for me. The ground was probably too soft

for him. It was very dead. After being on good ground, they're trying to quicken

on it, and they can't."

Arctic

Cosmos checked in another three-quarters of a length away in fourth, trailed by

Quest for Peace, Musketier, Redwood, Mores Wells, Laureate Conductor, Celtic

Conviction, Kara's Orientation, Rahystrada, Simmard, Mikhail Glinka, Miami Deco

and Bronze Cannon.

Sarah Lynx, who negotiated 1 1/2 miles in 2:34 4/5, sparked mutuels of

$46.90, $21.40 and $13.80. Her landmark win advanced her resume to 11-3-0-1, and

the $891,090 winner's check boosted her bankroll to $1,076,147.

"She likes to be inside of horses," Soumillon said. "The great thing is that

she has a good turn of foot. She is really relaxed in the race. This is the

third time she's had blinkers on because before she was a bit lazy. So with

those on, I saw she was not pulling at all in the race. She was really relaxed.

I was quite confident." 

Sarah Lynx's connections opted to face males, rather than distaffers in the

E.P. Taylor, for two reasons. The 1 1/2-mile distance was more amenable, and

crucially, Soumillon would not have been available for the E.P. Taylor, with his

commitment to ride the Wildensteins' Adventure Seeker.

Both of Sarah Lynx's prior victories had come with the Belgian in the saddle,

notably her lone stakes score in the Group 2 Prix de Pomone on August 14 at

Deauville. With others at the helm, her past stakes results included a third in

the 2010 Group 2 Prix de Royallieu and a fourth in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille on

September 11. The third-place finisher in the Vermeille, Shareta, has since come

back to place second in the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

"Last time, she was a bit unlucky because she didn't jump out of the gate,

but the form was really awesome," Soumillon observed of the Vermeille. "She got

a chance today to do something great, but I didn't suppose her to win this

race."

Bred by Grangecon Stud in Ireland, Sarah Lynx was purchased for $109,027 as a

yearling at Tattersalls October. She was produced by Group 3 victress Steel

Princess, a daughter of Danehill. Her fourth dam is 1970 French Oaks queen and

noted broodmare Sweet Mimosa, a full sister to European Horse of the Year

Levmoss and the great stayer Le Moss.

Sarah Lynx has now earned a spot in the Breeders' Cup Turf, should her

connections choose to take it.