By triumphing in the Prix de Paris Marathon Race, Diable de Vauvert offered a first Group I to his trainer Bertrand Le Beller but also to his breeder and owner Franck Lemuet.
Second last year in the Prix de Paris Marathon Race behind Etonnant, Diable de Vauvert was able to take his revenge on Richard Westerink’s protege thanks to a magnificent final rush after 4,150 meters of racing. The event had been announced as the horse’s No. 1 objective for several months by Bertrand Le Beller and Diable de Vauvert was present at the meeting. A true Marathon horse, endowed with a very strong outfit and always able to place a final acceleration in the last 500 meters, the hero of the Prix de Paris Marathon Race won his first Group I and finest title on Sunday. He added to his success the new race record by signing the kilometer reduction of 1’13”3 over 4,150 meters, erasing the previous mark to the credit of Up And Quick (1’13”5 in the 2015 edition). Its driver Tony Le Beller had already shone at Group I level three times abroad but at the age of 51 won his biggest title in France.
The champion’s dam, Pop Star, had been bought from the Ecurie des Charmes by the parents of Franck Lemuet. It was under their colors and the training of Bertrand Le Beller that she had already shown great quality on the track, winning four races including a Group II at the Etrier at the age of 4. Third in the Prix du Président de la République, the big event under the saddle of 4-year-olds, she ended her career with more than €275,000 in prize money. Pop Star belongs to a long lineage marked by the seal of the Viel family which goes back to Rosa Bonheur (born in 1939) from whom Mon Tourbillon, Permissionnaire, Opprimé and many other champions descended. Pop Star became a pillar of Franck Lemuet’s breeding when the latter decided to continue the family business. To date, it has three products that have won, including of course Diable de Vauvert, the best of all.
On the paternal side, Prince d’Espace, had had a fine career under the rule of Sébastien Guarato, in a generation dominated by the champion Pearl Queen of whom he was one of the main rivals, Diable de Vauvert becomes his second Group I winner after Unique Quick, winner of the Critériums des 3 Ans and 4 Ans and the Prix de Sélection.
