Gold Link Profile

Written on 27 April 2020

Gold Link was bought after catching the eye in the two AQPS (see below) Flat races he ran in his native France in 2019. This lightly-raced son of the Arc de Triomphe winner, Rail Link, appears to have endless potential, as the form of his two runs so far has worked out well, and new trainer Emma Lavelle has been very happy with what she has seen so far. Let's take a look back at Gold Link's pedigree, and what he achieved to date in France, which give us reason to be hopeful about his prospects.

Gold Link is out of Une De Montot, who was bred, owned and trained by Etienne Leenders, and won five races from 28 starts. She won her third racecourse start, at Les Sables-d'Olonne in August 2011 over 1m 5f, before making a smooth transition to hurdling. She won her first start over obstacles at Vire in June 2012, when running out a smooth six-length winner over 2m 3f. Proving her versatility, she won her second start over fences, at Argentan in October 2012, when winning by 10 lengths over 2m4f. She followed up this success a month later when winning at Angers, before losing her form when possibly affected by a fall at the same venue in December 2012. She returned to form to win at Enghien-Soisy a year later, before running her final race at Lion d'Angers in August 2014.

Une De Montot was a very consistent and sound mare who was equally effective under all three codes - on the Flat, over hurdles and over fences, so Gold Link could have an exciting and lengthy career, if emulating his dam. Whilst Une De Montot has not bred any other foals who have raced, she has bred a three-year-old full-sister to Gold Link named Hortense De Montot, and a yearling by Nom De D'La called Julie De Montot, who we hope will be racing at some stage over the next few years.

Gold Link's sire Rail Link was a superb winner of the 2006 Arc De Triomphe for master French trainer, André Fabre. Owned and bred by Juddmonte, he was unraced as a juvenile, before unseating in his first race as a three-year-old, after clipping the heels of a rival. After finishing second in his first completed race, he remained unbeaten for the rest of the season. After winning his maiden at Saint-Cloud, Rail Link progressed to win the Group 3 Prix Du Lys at Longchamp in June 2006, before defying his inexperience to land the competitive Grand Prix De Paris the following month. Rail Link then defeated dual Arc runner-up, Youmzain, and Derby runner-up, Dragon Dancer, in the Prix Niel, before winning Europe's greatest race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in October.

In this race, Rail Link beat top French mare, Pride, who over the span of her career, won the Champion Stakes, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the Hong Kong Cup, as well as one of the finest horses ever to race in Japan, and more recently one of the best stallions in the world (until his untimely death), Deep Impact. The winner of the 2005 Arc, the King George & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Tattersalls Stakes, Hurricane Run, also finished behind Rail Link, as did St Leger winner, Sixties Icon, and Coronation Cup and Breeders' Cup Turf winner, Shirocco.

Rail Link still stands at Haras du Cercy for a very fair €2,500, with his best progeny to date being Australian Group 1 winner Spillway, as well as the Group 1-winning juvenile, Epicuris. Other top progeny include Trip To Rhodos, Last Train (who also went on to stand as a stallion in France) and Chain Of Daisies, who have all won at Group 3 level.

In France, Gold Link was trained by Adrien Lacombe, who has a small, yet select string of horses. In 2019, Gold Link made his debut aged three in a 1m3f maiden race at Senonnes, situated in the Loire Valley, where the ground looked pretty fast. In the race, Gold Link broke well from the stalls and sat fourth in the tightly-packed group of horses, off a steady pace. Gold Link travelled well into the straight, but didn't have much room as the field levelled up for home, forcing jockey, Alexandre Roussel (who also rode another Owners Group horse, Gilka, in France) to wait longer than he would have chosen. Regardless of this, Gold Link quickened up well to lead with two furlongs to run, and was only headed in the final 20 yards, when Grand Bornand arrived late on the scene down the middle of the course before going on to win. Gold Link finished second, beaten only one and a half lengths.

The form of this race has since worked out very well. The winner, Grand Bornand, has not raced since, but was sold to be trained in Ireland, according to French records. The third-placed Gunfight has been placed in both his starts since this race, and the fourth-placed Geni De La Cour won at Cholet last November. Finally, the fifth-placed Girlish De Grugy won her next race, at Angouleme, giving the form a look of real quality.

Gold Link's next race was not until November last year, when he ran in another 1m3f maiden, although this time it was run in very different conditions, as the ground at Le Mans was testing. Gold Link broke well under Roussel and sat in a share of the lead initially, until taking a lead going into the first bend. Gold Link showed his inexperience before the bend, when skipping over a road crossing, which caught him by surprise and unbalanced him going into the bend. Gold Link was settled in fourth place going into the home turn, where he was quietly nudged along to hold his position, until turning into the straight, where Gold Link looked the one they all had to beat. Again, Gold Link showed his inexperience by shying away from Roussel's whip, and veered towards the centre of the course, allowing the eventual winner, Grand D'Espagne a clear run up the far rail. Gold Link finished second, beaten two and a half lengths at the post, after running another race full of promise.

Again, the form works out well here. The winner has not raced since (and was also sold to Ireland), but was placed in his two previous races. The third-placed Gemirande (who is now in Britain) won a steeplechase at Pau in January, while the fifth-placed Grand Frisson won a steeplechase at Pau in February, showing what good experience these races are before running over obstacles. It is worth remembering that Gold Link remains a maiden under all codes, which means that he can compete in bumpers, novice hurdles or novice chases without a penalty, giving Emma Lavelle plenty of options going forward.

Gold Link arrived with Emma in the New Year, having been shipped over from France in mid-December. Darrell Scaife was pleased with Gold Link when he arrived at EquiPrep in December, commenting at the time he looked light, bright and happy, although he needed to gain some weight and condition. Darrell was happy for him to leave after just a few weeks in his care, knowing that Emma would treat him as 'a work in progress'. Upon his arrival at Bonita Racing Stables in Wiltshire, Emma took her time with Gold Link, reporting he was pretty feisty when first ridden, following a few weeks without a saddle on his back. Emma sent him out every day wearing a hood to calm him down (this is especially common in French racing stables), and was soon really pleased with the quality of his work.

Once his fitness had improved to levels where he could complete a fast piece of work, Emma employed the services of former great National Hunt jockey, Timmy Murphy, to ride him in a gallop on the astoundingly beautiful grass gallops on Emma's private section of the Marlborough Downs. Timmy was really excited by Gold Link, and after a couple of pieces of work, Emma was looking forward to running him in the spring, before lockdown took over and all Jump racing was cancelled until July at the earliest. Gold Link therefore returned to EquiPrep earlier this month for his summer break, which should do him the world of good, as horses often need a season to acclimatise when they arrive from France, and usually need to put on some weight after the journey.

We hope Gold Link will arrive back at Bonita Stables later in the summer (assuming the autumn/winter racing programme is unaffected by Coronavirus), looking bigger and stronger that he did when he arrived at Emma's yard in January. Gold Link will also have the advantage of knowing the routine and the facilities, and Emma will have the benefit of having got to know him and worked out how to get the best out of him. On this basis, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful about Gold Link's prospects next season. In the meantime, please stay safe, and let's all hope Covid-19 is soon contained, and life and the sport we love can return to normal.

AQPS (autre que pur-sang) races are for horses who appear in the non-thoroughbred register, and are quite common in France. AQPS translates as 'other than thoroughbred', and originates from the end of the 19th century, when French farmers crossed cart horse mares with thoroughbred stallions, in order to breed a fast, resilient steeplechaser. At the time, French national studs offered attractive deals to local breeders who sought stallions who were not considered fast enough to make the grade on the Flat, hence AQPS horses became quite common. To this day, breeding in France remains much more regional than in Britain and Ireland, where the gene pool is remarkably small, with the majority of decent mares being sent to a relatively small number of stallions (e.g. Oscar, Presenting, Kayf Tara, in recent years). In France, many more stallions are used across the country, which results in some top-class horses being bred by stallions previously unheard of, like Village Star (sire of Kauto Star), and more recently Chacun Pour Soi's sire, Policy Maker, and Un De Sceaux's sire, Denham Red.

Given the refinements in the breeding industry over the last 100+ years, most AQPS horses now contain over 90% thoroughbred blood, with the remaining percentage made up of Selle-Français (French riding horse) or Anglo-Arab blood. The most famous AQPS horses to have raced in this country are Grand National winners Neptune Collonges and Mon Mome, as well as Champion Chase and King George VI Chase winner, Edredon Bleu, who was lightning-fast. There are many races restricted to AQPS horses in France, although they are also able to run in normal races on any thoroughbred card, just as they are in Britain.

Foals from each year must be named according to the year they are born, with their names all starting with the same letter, referring to that year. For instance, each AQPS horse born in 2016 will have a name beginning with the letter 'G'. The following year's names must begin with the letter 'H', etc.