A duo of new stakes winners for Frankel

Sunday (1st May) saw a pair of Frankel three-year-olds post smart stakes-winning performances on either side of the English Channel.

Taken from the Thoroughbred Daily News, 2nd May 2022:

The first to strike was Martel, a homebred for the Wertheimer's and trained by André Fabre. Martel concluded his juvenile campaign with an eighth in October's Gr.1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, having opened up with wins at Compiegne and Saint-Cloud, and rebounded in game fashion on seasonal return to garner a career high tackling 12 furlongs for the first time in the Listed Prix de l'Avre. Steadied to track the leaders in third after the opening exchanges, he made headway under
pressure in the straight to challenge with 350 metres remaining and was pushed out once gaining an advantage passing the furlong marker to narrowly hold the rallying long-time leader Ardakan in a bunch finish.

"It was his first run since October and he was meeting horses which had already run this year, so we were happy with that performance," said racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau. "He won nicely and we're very pleased. We liked him a lot last season, but I thing the Criterium de Saint-Cloud possibly came a little early for him as he lacked the experience for that. We have taken our time with him, he was ready for his return today and we hope he progresses from this. We'll go for one more race and will then head to the [Gr.1] Grand Prix de Paris."

Less than two hours later With The Moonlight dominated the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket prompting the bookmakers to cut her to 8-1 for the Oaks.

With well-supported favourite Crenelle pulling too hard early, the homebred's task was made all the easier but given the manner of her success it is hard to imagine any other outcome. Always travelling strongly tracking the leader on this return, she took command with half a mile to race and stayed on powerfully
to come home alone.

"The one thing she was going to do was stay today and that's why I said to William to ride her positively and once I saw everyone else come under the pump I was pretty sure she wasn't going to stop," Appleby commented.

"She's in the Oaks. We ran her in the Montrose at the end of last year because she's a filly that we felt would get further as she got older, but we found that she's been getting quicker in her work at home."

Her dam, the fast Gr.2 Flying Childers Stakes winner Sand Vixen is also responsible for Frankel's Gr.1 Jebel Hatta and Gr.2 Al Rashidiya hero Dream Castle by Frankel.