Prolific Moulin winner has Prix de la Foret and Breeders’ Cup targets.
Trainer Andre Fabre was beaming with pride last week when Tribalist finally won a Group One race in the Prix du Moulin. The race was expected to be the most challenging for him, including Charyn, Henry Longfellow, and Notable Speech among his opponents. Still, he performed unflinching front-running, surprising everyone by taking the race quite comprehensively, winning by a full, comfortable length and a half. He seemed confident enough in his horse. "I wasn't surprised at all that he won. I was surprised at how many people were surprised!" His claim was evident in the shape of the horse's solid form, given his previous five Group races. Fabre's belief in the tribalist has never wavered, and this achievement demonstrated the potential of the horse. "He has always won them in style," he said, adding that this latest victory was simply the fruit of hard work and strategy.
Looking back at Tribalist's previous performances, he said that the horse never suffered setbacks aside from when his tactics were altered. "When we changed the tactics and dropped him in, like in Hong Kong or Deauville, he didn't perform as well," Fabre explained. This drove home the need to know every little bit of a horse's strengths and to change the racing strategy accordingly. He recalled how Tribalist had outshone Facteur Cheval at Saint-Cloud last year, which also justified that the horse was given less respect than the way he had been performing of late.
🇫🇷😲 Shock in the Prix du Moulin!
Tribalist (25/1) strikes from the front at ParisLongchamp, landing the Group 1 feature under Mickael Barzalona.
🥈 In similar style to his Lockinge defeat, Charyn picked up best from those in the chasing pack…pic.twitter.com/ocJSQgE61Q
— Sporting Life Racing (@SportingLife) September 8, 2024
One ride that caught the eye was that of Mickael Barzalona, who took advantage of his chance when he let the Tribalist take the lead. Fabre described the move as "opportunistic," but noted that it doesn't happen as often in France, where the horses tend to run more patiently. "You can't let a horse as good as him get up such a huge head of steam," he said, an acknowledgement of the high demands of competition racing. Next, Fabre sets his sights on Tribalist in the Prix de la Forêt, a race over seven furlongs that should be run accordingly. "Seven furlongs should not be a problem," he said.
The trainer is also considering running Tribalist in the Breeders' Cup. This would definitely bring the horse onto an international platform, and that would do him no harm at all. "It's an option I will talk to Sheikh Mohammed about," he added, hinting at exciting prospects for the future. Fabre's optimism extends far beyond this campaign, however. He believes that Tribalist possesses the scope to do really well in any major race, and this victory in the Prix du Moulin was built on a solid foundation for the rest of the season. Support from Sheikh Mohammed combined with the continued use of a talented team only adds to the feeling of possibility for this promising horse.
For a sport so much focused on the ideations of patience and faith, there isn't one person on the globe that found more value in these saturations than Fabre did regarding Tribalist's abilities. With this success, this racing season now remains a foregone conclusion, as fans will all be on the edge of their seats to see how this five-year-old talent builds from here.
