Darley prix jean

romanet (group 1)

THE 25/1 outsider Odeliz landed a brave victory in the Prix Jean Romanet.

It was not the idea for Odeliz to make all the running but the other 10 runners were unwilling to take the field along. A steady pace was set and other runners well up early on were Madame Chiang and last year’s winner, Ribbons.

Odeliz was a sitting target in the straight but she stayed on gallantly inside the final furlong to hold off Bawina and Avenir Certain who was asked a very big question in the straight on such testing ground. The winning distance was a neck and three-quarters of a length.

Prix Prix de l’Opera winner We Are was fourth and then came Fate and Ribbons who failed to produce her best form.

Karl Burke was greeting his second Group 1 winner having saddled Lord Shanakill to win the 2009 Prix Jean Prat: “It wasn’t the intention to take the lead but she relaxed well in front. The cheek pieces have done a good job as she can pull up in front. They went no pace in the Rothschild and the 2,000 (one mile, two furlongs) metre distance was better for her. She was a very big yearling and that possibly explains why we paid just €22, 000 for her as a yearling at the Arqana October sales in 2011. Never raced at two, Odeliz has come a long way since.”

Of the future, Burke added: “She was second in the E.P. Taylor at Woodbine a year ago so we will consider the race again and also enter her in the Prix de l’Opera.”

Odeliz is considered born and raised in France so the winning purse of €142,850 was swelled by an owner’s premium of €55,280. She should never have started at such long odds having finished third (slightly remote) on good going in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes to Arabian Queen and we all know what a surprise the latter created at York.

The runner-up Bawina found the distance on testing ground a little beyond her and Jean-Claude Rouget thought Avenir Certain, now sold to Teruya Yoshida, would have won with a better draw.