American Pharoah’s Ocean Atlantique Wins Prix de Suresnes
Ocean Atlantique (3c American Pharoah x Tare Green, by Giant’s Causeway) became American Pharoah’s seventh stakes winner on Sunday when impressively winning the Listed Prix de Suresnes by five lengths in France.
Going straight to the lead in the 1¼ mile race, the Andre Fabre trainee never seemed pressured as he galloped along with his ears pricked. Jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot looked extremely confident in his mount as the field came to him around the far turn, sitting still on Ocean Atlantique as Nobody’s drew up beside him.
Once in the stretch, Boudot started urging his mount and Ocean Atlantique quickly put open lengths between him and the field. While a few runners came on late for second, there was no threat to the winner as he registered his first stakes success and became a leading chance for the Prix de Jockey Club.
"He's a colt with a good mind on him who is calm and takes his work well," said Boudot. "There was always a chance it could get tactical today but he jumped well, so I let him stride on. He accelerated well in the straight and stayed all the way to the line. He's improving with racing."
The sales topper at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale last year for the Grove Stud consignment when bringing €1.1 million from the Broadhurst Agency for the Coolmore partners, the colt was also a $275,000 yearling purchase when bought from breeder Indian Creek by Grove Stud.
He has found success on the track since the beginning, never finishing worse than second in his four starts with a placing in the Group III Prix La Force to kick off his 2020 campaign 2½ weeks ago.
The second winner for Tare Green, a half-sister to U.S. Champion Turf Male Leroidesanimaux, Ocean Atlantique comes from a deep female family with his third dam Kerali the dam of bluehen mare Hasili. Ocean Atlantique also provided an important update for his unraced half-sister Lark Rise, who visited American Pharoah this year.
The second winner of the weekend for Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, both Ocean Atlantique and A Shin Amen Ra are out of Giant’s Causeway mares.
Ocean Atlantique is one of 39 winners and 17 stakes horses from American Pharoah’s first crop. The Champion Freshman Sire is proving to be a truly international sire with stakes horses in five different countries and winners in nine countries.