Al Shaqab Racing’s LUCKY LYCRA makes her grand exit

The Al Shaqab Racing’s runner Lucky Lycra (IRE) (Olympic Glory x Pearl Banks) ended her career in a blaze of glory by securing a well-deserved group success in the Grosser Preis der Mehl-Mulhens-Stiftung (Gr3) at Hanover, Germany on Sunday, 25 October 2020. The François Rohaut’s charge had landed the Prix Joubert (L) over 2,800m (1m 6f) as a three-year-old, and she was lightly campaigned this season.

On Sunday, her young rider, Thomas Trullier, 20, decided to make this a true test by setting a good gallop. Sticking to the stands’ side rail in the straight, LUCKY LYCRA anticipated the attack of the favourite SUNNY QUEEN (Camelot), which materialised 400m from the wire. LUCKY LYCRA gamely stuck to her task until the end securing a short-heard victory and providing her rider with his first group success.  SNOW (Sea The Moon) deprived the other French raider EPISODIA (Palace Episode) of third.

François Rohaut said: “She deserved this group success. This was a good opportunity for her. The filly was in in good shape and the ground wasn’t too heavy. The jockey rode a peach of a race by dictating terms at a pace to suit without being pressurised and Lucky Lycra did well to complete her mission. She now deserves to be sent to some good stallions. It’s great when the horses you have to work with hail from some quality bloodlines. I used to train the grandam PEARLY SHELLS (Efisio), a fabulous winner of the Prix Vermeille (Gr1), and PEARL BANKS (Pivotal), the dam of Lucky Lycra. This is a quality bloodline and one which produces classy fillies.”