Horse Racing

Sans Frontieres Rules Princess Of Wales’s Stakes

Jeremy Noseda-trained Sans Frontieres shocked spectators at the Princess Of Wales’s Sportingbet.com Stakes when he raced to a Hollywood-style victory. No one predicted that this four-year-old would make a strong impression in the feature race of the second July Festival day; the buzz surrounding Spanish Moon and Holberg diverted attention from this proverbial dark horse. However, thanks to a brilliant ride by jockey Tom Queally, Sans Frontieres came through to cause perhaps the greatest upset of this year’s July Festival.

The race did not start well for Sans Frontieres, who was literally the last horse on the field for a major portion of the one mile four furlong distance. Gosden-trained Tazeez took a confident lead under jockey Richard Hills, setting a fierce pace with second favourite Holberg hot on his heels. Favourite Spanish Moon, trained by Sir Michael Stoute (who also schooled last year’s winner of the Princess Of Wales’s Stakes), stayed close to the leading pair under Ryan Moore. At the very back, behind Man Of Iron and jockey Kieren Fallon, sat Queally on Sans Frontieres.

With only three furlongs to go, Tazeez began to falter in the lead, caving under the pressure; causing a scuffle and struggle in the chasing field. Queally took this as his opportunity to make a move and unleashed the never-guessed upon powers of Sans Frontieres. The four-year-old overtook his seven rivals and sprinted for the finish line, making it home with 2 ½ lengths to spare over Redwood, who made it out of the cluster the fastest under Michael Hills. Former leader Tazeez made it to third place. Favourites Spanish Moon and Holberg took fourth and fifth place respectively.

Sans Frontieres’ connections are absolutely delighted. Considering the new champion had not won a race since September 2008 and missed most of his 2009 season due to injury, as well as failing to make good in his three 2010 appearances prior to the Princess Of Wales, the victory did indeed call for celebration.