May 25 - In horse racing nothing beats a good comeback, and for the connections and fans of Irish-bred mare Goldikova, her comeback win in Sunday's $312,000 Prix d'Ispahan (Gr 1) at Longchamp Racecourse near Paris was a joy to watch.

Although getting on in years, Goldikova who is based in France has won some top stakes including the Prix de Toutevoie, the Prix de la Lorie, the Prix Chloe, the Prix Rothschild and even the prestigious American race, the Breeders' Cup Mile twice.

In fact, On Sunday the 5-year-old was making her first start since winning the 2009 Breeders' Cup Mile in November. As such, ahead of the 1850m Prix d'Ispahan racing fans would have been forgiven for wondering if she still had more victories in her.

And as if sensing her detractors at Longchamp, Goldikova with French jockey Olivier Peslier aboard, put on a memorable show from start to finish. From the start she settled into a comfortable third place while early leader Next Vision set a quick pace.

But by the quarter pole Peslier had guided Goldikova into the lead who sensing the finish, kept up the fast pace, even managing to keep Byword at bay, who came hurtling up the field in the final stages to reduce her two length lead to just a half length.

Goldikova covered the course in a lightning fast time of 1.49.4, which broke the previous record of 1:49.9, which was set in 1991 by Sanglamore. Byword snatched second, crossing the line almost 10 lengths ahead of Wiener Walzer in third place.

Said Goldikova's trainer Freddie Head following the Prix d'Ispahan, 'She is extraordinary. She broke the record for the race, and it was a tough race. That was over nine furlongs today, too. A mile is her distance, definitely, she is a miler.'

According to reports, Head in tends to vye for his third Breeders' Cup Mile title with Goldikova later this year.

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2012/04/02 06:42:14 AM