Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (Group 1)

THE Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines produced the usual cavalry charge over five furlongs with all eyes fixed on Battaash, easy winner of this race at Chantilly in 2017 but only fourth here last term.

Did his course record-breaking Nunthorpe Stakes triumph mean that this hitherto volatile character had finally calmed down at the age of five and hence become consistently brilliant?

The Irish-bred son of Dark Angel responded to that question with a career worst performance, his trainer, Charlie Hills, conceding that he was the first horse beaten prior to trailing home 14th of the 16 runners.

What’s more, there were no obvious excuses – he showed no signs of temperament beforehand and broke well from the gates to secure a prominent early position.

The prize still fell into British hands for the sixth straight year and in some style, as the front-running Dream Ahead filly, Glass Slippers, could be named the winner a long way from home under Tom Eaves and held a three-length advantage passing the post.

Yorkshire trainer Kevin Ryan, who also won the 2006 Abbaye with Desert Lord, was not in attendance, leaving her owner-breeder, Terry Holdcroft, to hold court afterwards.

“When I asked Kevin to enter her for this, before she had even won a group race, I think that he must have taken me for a fool and we came here hoping to run into a place, so to win, and win by such a margin, is quite incredible,” Holdcroft exclaimed.

“The other big surprise is that she adapted to the conditions as we thought she preferred good ground. She’s a filly that we’ve kept to race because her dam has died and we’ve had her bloodlines going back several generations.”

“I don’t think she’ll run again this year but I think we’ll keep her in training and why not bring her back to Paris in 12 months time!”

So Perfect, runner-up in the Flying Five Stakes three weeks earlier, finished strongly to fill the same position, leaving Aidan O’Brien to say: “She likes this ground and really quickened well to get second so we are happy.”