A twice-placed sprinter at two for Archie Watson, Identified had disappointed on his final outing in the UK in September and was picked up for just 3,500gns at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale in October. Fast-forward four months, the son of leading sire Showcasing is taking Cagnes by storm, winning three times, placing on the other four occasions and earning over €50,000 in prize-money for trainer Peter Schiergen.
The gelding was sourced for his owners White & Red Racing by bloodstock agent Paul Harley, a former jockey, trainer and racing manager to the owners of 2007 world champion Manduro.
Beaten in claimers on two of his first four starts in France, Identified has taken off since champion jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot took over in the saddle, scorching to victory in handicap company in January before just losing out in class 2 company at the beginning of this month.
However, he has since continued his progression through the ranks, making light of the step up to a class 1 with another gusty front-running victory at Cagnes last week, in doing so providing his owners White & Red Racing with their sixth winner from just 18 runners in France since the turn of the year.
Given the White & Red Racing team’s recent success, it will be fascinating to see how new recruit Cassata gets on at Cagnes on Wednesday.
