NEW Approach had another Group 1 winner last Sunday when his five-year-old son Potemkin won the Premio Roma at the Capannelle. The Dalham Hall Stud stallion, whose fee for 2017 has been halved to £30,000, was also responsible for the third-placed Elliptique.

The pair were divided by British raider Robin Of Navan, trained by Harry Dunlop.

Potemkin is trained in Germany by Andreas Wohler and was ridden as usual in Rome by Eduardo Pedroza. A multiple Group 3 winner in Germany, Potemkin had won the Group 2 Prix Dollar at Chantilly on Arc weekend on his previous start. He won the Rome race by a length and a half in heavy ground, carrying the colours of former footballer Klaus Allofs.

Harry Dunlop was delighted with Robin Of Navan’s effort. The son of American Post won the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud last year.

Dunlop said: “We were absolutely thrilled. He’s given what looks a very good horse in Potemkin a pretty good run for his money and beaten a Group 1 winner in Elliptique in third. He was very seriously hurt in the Prix du Jockey Club. It’s taken a few runs, but it’s incredible we’ve managed to get him back to that level again.

“It’s nice to end what has been a slightly frustrating year on a high and he’s an exciting horse to look forward to for next season. I haven’t really thought about where we’ll start off with him. He’ll obviously be racing in France plenty as he’s eligible for the premiums, which are very lucrative for us.”

The horsebox carrying Robin Of Navan was involved in a road accident near the Mont Blanc tunnel on the way back to Lambourn. The vehicle collided with a small car which was written off but nobody was injured and the horse didn’t turn a hair.

There were two other Group 3 races on the Rome card and both were won by Irish-breds. The Premio Guido Berardelli for two-year-olds went to the Stefano Botti-trained Aethos, a son of the Irish National Stud first season stallion Dragon Pulse. His fee rises from €5,000 to €8,000 next year.

The Irish-bred Kathy Dream (by Arcano) won the Group 3 Premio Carlo E Francesco Aloisi on the same card. The four-year-old filly is trained locally by Luigi Biagetti.