ENGLISH TEXTS ber on the same day as the Critérium International. The race, particularly in recent years, has been used as a springboard for precocious enough juveniles with a future over middle-distances and has featured some important names amongst the honours list including future Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe( Gr. 1) winner Waldgeist and Irish Derby( Gr. 1) winner Fame and Glory. Although the two Group 1’ s sit in their current position on the French racing calendar as part of initiatives to improve the juvenile programme for domestic runners, they have always been well-supported by Irish trainer Aidan O’ Brien. Since the inauguration of the Critérium International in 2001, O’ Brien has sent numerous runners and holds the accolade of leading trainer with six victories- Mount Nelson( 2006), Jan Vermeer( 2009), Roderic O’ Connor( 2010), Johannes Vermeer( 2015), Van Gogh( 2020) and Twain( 2024). He holds a similar record in the Critérium de Saint-Cloud with five wins. In 2008, O’ Brien won the contest with future Irish Derby hero Fame And Glory – a feat emulated fifteen years later when 2024 Irish Derby winner Los Angeles took the race ahead of an excellent Classic campaign. Both races have been targeted by a variety of different O’ Brien prospects. Los Angeles firmly fits into the mould of future middle-distance horse good enough to pick up a juvenile Group 1 on the way; whilst in contrast, 2024 Critérium International victor Twain was considered one of O’ Brien’ s best Classic hopefuls before a setback ruled him out of the first part of his threeyear-old campaign. There is an opportunity at this stage of the season to identify possible prospects for France, and one may have emerged during Newmarket’ s July Festival. The 1400m maiden, run on July Cup( Gr. 1) day, was won by S t James’ s Palace Stakes( Gr. 1) hero Field Of Gold last year and often provides useful Classic clues for the following season. This year’ s renewal was won by 1.9 million euro Arqana Breeze-Up purchase Distant Storm, but it was Aidan O’ Brien’ s Constitution River who caught the eye, finishing a close second. Bred by SARL Bloodstock, the Wootton Bassett colt is out of Le Havre mare Chuppy, who is a full-sister to Wonderful Tonight, winner of the British Champion Fillies & Mares Stakes( Gr. 1) at Ascot. His predominately French pedigree and the expectation that the colt will be a player over middle distances as a three-year-old suggests he looks the ideal candidate for the 2000m Critérium de Saint-Cloud.
BACK TO THE ARTICLE �
� PAGE 96
GLOBAL ECONOMY
IGOR DE MAACKS CHRONICLE
CONFLICTS ESCALATE
Following the war in Ukraine and the invasion of Gaza, a new wave of missiles and air strikes has erupted between Israel, supported by American raids, and Iran. The point of contention, still the same as always, concerns Iran’ s uranium enrichment program aimed at developing a nuclear bomb. This latest conflict quickly pushed the price of oil up( to $ 77 a barrel). The prospect of a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz( through which 20 % of the world’ s oil supply passes) continues to raise fears of a real oil shock. For European economies, this surge in oil prices is very bad news for GDP growth, in an environment where consumer spending is already sluggish. The European recovery, already hampered by unresolved tariff issues with the United States, now faces a new hurdle with rising energy costs. When another war, albeit a brief one, erupts, it also brings about a wait-and-see attitude and ever-increasing military spending, at the expense of other expenditures more beneficial to the proper
167 # 11