Wassim wins Prix Des Espoirs in Nantes

Owned by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani Wassim showed a good turn of foot when taking the Prix Des Espoirs, a maiden for two year-olds, at Nantes yesterday.
Trained by Henri-Alex Pantall, Wassim showed marked improvement on his debut third effort at Evereux and confirmed his place at the head of the market, under a fine, assured ride from Soufiane Saadi.
Drawn wide, Wassim broke well and was bustled along to take a prominent position for the 1,600m contest. Due to a brisk pace being set by Margesson, Wassim was caught wide going into the first bend and was shuffled back through the field.
At halfway, the colt had only two of his seven rivals behind and seemed outpaced. Inside the final 600m, he found his stride and began to make ground around the outside of the field.
Turning into the straight, he had two lengths to find with Margesson, but Wassim stayed on best of all and shot clear of his rivals 150m from the line. Galloping on powerfully, Wassim went on to score by two lengths from Speedy Charm (Charm Spirit), who caught the fading Margesson in the final strides.   
Bred by Haras de Victot, Wassim is by Charm Spirit. His dam Prairie Pearl won three of her first five starts and contested a handful of black-type races. She has now produced two winners from as many runners, as three-year-old Pearl Tree also broke his maiden at Nantes back in April.