DEAUVILLE, 8 August — This one, at least, went to script. Drazinda, put up in this morning’s Deauville preview at 13/8, won the Listed Prix de la Vallée d’Auge (13:33) at an SP of 2/1 for Francis-Henri Graffard and Mickael Barzalona — a rare Saturday afternoon on which the bet actually cashed.
The Result
| Pos | Horse | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Drazinda | Mickael Barzalona | 2/1 |
| 2nd | Vollering | Pierre-Louis Jamin | 18/1 |
| 3rd | Social Symbol | Cristian Demuro | 11/8 fav |
8 ran. Time: 56.30s. Going: soft.
The Race Story
The morning line was that Drazinda’s Royal Ascot experience would count for plenty back over the minimum trip against France’s next generation, and so it proved. In a five-furlong juvenile Listed contest run in 56.30s on soft ground, Barzalona’s filly proved too strong for her seven rivals, with the 18/1 outsider Vollering running the race of her life under Pierre-Louis Jamin to split the market principals.
The beaten favourite was Social Symbol, sent off 11/8 under Cristian Demuro, who could manage only third — meaning the first two in the market filled first and third rather than fighting out the finish the punters wanted. For Graffard, it caps a productive early afternoon at his home meeting: his Parachutiste had chased home Mazzala in the Prix de Reux (12:58) half an hour earlier, and Barzalona, second in that race, went one better here.
Tipster Accountability
Richard Gore’s verdict — “Drazinda — the Ascot experience should stand her in good stead back over the minimum trip” — landed at 2/1, his first winning verdict of the Deauville card after Uthred flopped in the opener. It came too late for the advertised 150/1 four-timer, which died with Uthred at leg one. None of our four tracked tipsters — Templegate, Paul Kealy, Oddschecker or Andrew Asquith — published a bet in France today; their money is riding on Ascot and Newmarket, and Sunday’s ledger will settle it.
Looking Ahead
Deauville’s afternoon rolls on towards the 15:32 Prix des Marettes, where the preview’s pick is Sucre Nabat — “the Dubawi filly looks the class act on paper” — before Victoire Magique (16:07), the third leg of the dead acca, now running as a single for anyone still keeping the faith. Full race-by-race verdicts are in the Deauville preview.
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