Co-owned by Negate Farm, royally bred Redoute’s Choice colt France claimed the scalp of dual Group I winner Prized Icon at Scone on Saturday when scoring a scintillating last to first win in the $400,000 Inglis Scone Guineas.
He was one of two runners in the race for Peter and Paul Snowden, who were expecting more of their other horse Calanda.
“On what they do at home you wouldn’t think France could beat Calanda,” Paul Snowden said. “But I said to the owners he’ll run a lot better than people think.
“He was given a nice soft run out the back and Tye followed the two favourites. Hugh was following Glyn (Schofield) and he was on the back of them.
“Probably the better horses have fought out the finish.”
While Calanda was somewhat unlucky in the straight and finished out of the placings, France swooped down the outside for Tye Angland to claim victory with an explosive burst of pace.
“The speed was on,” Angland said. “I didn’t want to be that far back but it’s just the way the race panned out.
“I thought I had them covered but he’s a bit casual, things were happening in front of him, they stepped out in front of him then he wanted to get in.
“It was a super win.”
Now headed to Brisbane for the Group II BRC Queensland Guineas next month, France has two wins and two seconds from six starts with prizemoney of $295,950.
A $475,000 Inglis Easter purchase from the Newhaven Park draft, France is raced by a syndicate that includes Newgate Farm, his breeder John Kelly and the China Horse Club in whose colours he runs.
The colt is a full brother to Newhaven Park’s former star mare Peeping, who won the Group I ATC Coolmore Classic last year before tragically losing her life to colic.