THE main supporting race on the Prix de Diane undercard was the Prix Hocquart Longines and it produced a renewal below the quality you would expect for a Group 2 contest. That was no great bombshell given that this race has not had an outstanding winner since Hurricane Run in 2005.

It went the way of the Charlie Appleby-trained British raider Al Hilalee under a well-judged front-running ride from James Doyle.

A big disappointment when fourth favourite for the 2000 Guineas on his seasonal debut, this son of Dubawi and the Group 1-winning mare Ambivalent relished this step up to a mile and a half in beating Soft Light and Khagan (who had filled the same places behind another Appleby charge, Jalmoud, in a listed race six weeks earlier) by two necks.

It would be no surprise if the first three met again in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp on Bastille Day (July 14th) but it would be a shock if any trio were good enough to land that Group 1 prize.

Another 2000 Guineas also-ran, Azano broke his pattern race duck when winning the Group 3 Prix Paul de Moussac over a mile. It was a taking performance by the son of Oasis Dream, who hassled the favourite, Anodor, as the pair set a strong pace, then battled on gamely in the closing stages under Rab Havlin to hold off Pizzicato by a length.

Thady Gosden, son and assistant to trainer John Gosden, was quick to deflect praise afterwards, suggesting that a trip to France was all the idea of Azano’s owner-breeder, Martin Taylor. Taylor reasoned that the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot might be a bit too hot and that this race would set Azano up perfectly for the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat over Deauville’s straight seven furlongs on July 7th.

A trio of British victories and a double for Godolphin, James Doyle and Charlie Appleby was completed when the Mastercraftsman gelding Vintager, purchased out of David Menuisier’s yard last year as a three-year-old, held off the long odds-on favourite Trais Fluors by three-quarters of a length in the Group 3 Prix Betrand du Breuil Longines.

Crosse scores at Clairefontaine

BIZARRE goings on in a €45,000 event at Clairefontaine on Monday. Solar Impulse, a Cheltenham Festival hero over fences in 2016 when trained by Paul Nicholls but now with fellow British handler Ian Williams, made a surprise switch to hurdles to take on some useful local rivals.

The 9/1 chance was gifted a 15-length lead at the start and was totally ignored thereafter by his five rivals, eventually coming home 20 lengths clear to give Tipperary-born jockey Dave Crosse the most valuable success of his 17-year professional riding career.