Habibi to be Offered at Arqana Summer Sale

Last Sunday's Prix de Diane (G1) fourth-place finisher Habibi (FR) is to be offered at Arqana's Summer Sale catalog and will go under the hammer July 1 in Deauville. A winner of two of her four starts at 2 for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget and owners Jan Romel and Ecurie Nicolato, the Le Brivido (FR) filly was second in the listed Prix Rose de Mai at Saint-Cloud in the spring and was then fourth in the Prix Saint-Alary (G2). In classic company at Chantilly, Habibi finished just over 3 lengths behind the winner Diamond Necklace (IRE). She is out of the Duke of Marmalade mare Hot Marmalade and a sibling of a few minor winners. Romel said: "What impressed me most after the Prix de Diane is how easily she has recovered from the race. Even though she ran in the second fastest edition of the Prix de Diane ever, she recovered almost straight away. "That leads us to think that she did not use all her resources, and she still has room to improve. The tracking figures show her remarkable athletic qualities. "Habibi registered the highest top speed out of any of the field, reaching 68.9 kilometers per hour. She also covered the last 400 meters (about 2 furlongs) in 23.88 seconds, with a remarkable fraction of 11.67 seconds from 400 to 200 meters, one of the best times registered in the Diane."