After 4 runs this year where he hasn't shown much, Chirimiri stormed back to form with a win over 1400m in a valuable handicap at Vichy, France this Tuesday. As jockey Ioritz Mendizabal said in his post race interview, the boy is a bit "Coquin" or naughty/rascally and won't put in the effort if he doesn't feel like it. He also usually likes to wait for "Les Copains" or mates/friends when he hits the front but this time, with the first time aid of blinkers, he certainly put in the effort and wasn't worried about his pals! Whatever, the headgear certainly made a difference as he won by 2.5 lengths in a typical competitive race worth €26,500 to the winner.
It's always nice to win but there was also a sense of relief in that he proved he can still do it at 6yo as we were thinking that perhaps he wasn't interested any more. The handicapper has done what we expected and put him up 3.5 kilos which means he is now rated at an all time personal high of 42.5 or 94 in lbs. That puts him around Listed class although we probably won't go down that track next time out. He won the race easily enough, travelling in the first 6 for 1000m before moving into the lead. He quickly pulled away and was going very well when hitting the line indicating that he could possibly deal with up to a 1600m distance now, He travels well and has finishing speed so in theory it might suit him to step up to that distance. One never quite knows what will be the impact of the blinkers second time out but we'll find out soon enough!
Excellent ride by Ioritz Mendizabal who hails from nearby where we live in Donostia-San Sebastian in the Basque country, and very well prepared by Christophe Ferland and team for his fifth win.
Chirimiri wins at Vichy on 16th July 2024 over 1400m ridden by Ioritz Mendizabal