The China Horse Club’s international run of success continue unabated overnight with the French based Celestial House saluting at only his second start in 2015. The Nicholas Clement trained three-year-old joins winners this season from Singapore (Parranda, Olympic Anthem and Shanghai Bund), Australia (Dissident, First Seal and White Hunter) and the United States (Parranda) in what is still an early stage of the season.
Celestial House scored in the Prix de Samois-sur-Seine (1100m) at Fontainebleau, holding a half-length advantage over his rivals on the line.
“It has been a fantastic start to 2015 for the club and its members and we look forward to building off this platform. Our goal is provide wonderful experiences for our members and there is nothing like success,”said Eden Harrington, General Manager for the China Horse Club.
“Nicholas has worked hard on Celestial House and he has come back this season an improved individual. This result follows up Nicholas’fantastic training effort with Ming Zhi Cosmos which he travelled her from France to run such a game third in the CECF Singapore Cup. We have some young unraced stock in his care and our members that enjoy Paris will no doubt see this result with great interest.”
The CHC’s France Stable was strengthened with four quality fillies in late 2014. Clement will train three with Francis-Henri Graffard, the former trainer of the CECF Singapore Cup contender Summer Surprice, training the fourth.
Clement has been given fillies by the high profile stallions Fastnet Rock and Le Havre as well as a rangy filly by Beat Hollow. Graffard will train a filly by former French Derby winner and boom young sire Lope de Vega.
“These are four quality fillies that we have added to our arsenal in France and that is particularly exciting as we have had some success with fillies in our short time racing there,”Harrington said.
“Nicolas of course oversaw the career of Ming Zhi Cosmos before she moved to Singapore last month. She won six races in only 12 starts, five in 2014 including three stakes races, and then ran a close third in the richest race ever run in Singapore at the start of the year. He also trained the winner and stakes placegetter Jiayuguan. When fillies can perform like these two have they provide our members with great thrills, they are profitable and they retire as a great value asset. It is not often in life that a hobby pays for itself. It is our goal to have more and more results like this in 2015 and beyond and Celestial House is a reminder that such goals are very realistic.”