PRIX DE DIANE LONGINES

(Group 1)

TRAINER Karl Burke and jockey P.J. McDonald enjoyed a massive breakthrough success at Chantilly last Sunday as the big, brave and beautiful filly, Laurens, gave the Yorkshire-based pair a memorable first classic success in the €1 million Group 1 Prix de Diane Longines.

Just like the QIPCO Prix du Jockey Club a fortnight earlier, the Diane produced a blanket finish – this time just half a length covered the first five home.

That will matter not a jot to Burke, McDonald and owner John Dance and, as was the case in the Jockey Club, Study Of Man, the winning margin, while narrow, was somehow comprehensive.

Indeed, though Laurens officially only had a neck to spare over Musis Amica with Homerique, Happily and With You just a nose, a head and a nose further back, the gap between the first two looked more like half a length and Laurens was asserting in the last few yards.

A step up to a mile and a half, which may take place as soon as July 21st in the Irish Oaks, should be well within her capabilities.

Wide draws in double figure fields over this 10 and a half-furlong Chantilly trip are never ideal, and Laurens (drawn 12 of 13) did well to overcome hers. But neither are low draws if you miss the break, and Frankie Dettori had to be really vigorous to get the occupant of stall one, Luminate, to the head of affairs.

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Laurens, by contrast, was straight down to business and McDonald was able to take his time, albeit hung out wide, before taking a careful look over his right shoulder prior to slotting in one off the rail in second place after half a mile.

The daughter of Siyouni moved into the lead with two furlongs to run but looked a sitting duck as no less than five rivals – Homerique, With You, Shahnaza, Soustraction and, widest of all, Musis Amica – bore down upon her nearing the 200 metre pole.

As it turned out, none could get past, meaning that Dance pocketed both the €571,400 first prize and, because Laurens is French-bred, a €128,565 owner’s premium, taking his afternoon’s earnings to €699,965 – considerably more than if she had won the English (€320,412) or the Irish (€232,000) equivalents.

It was a great family triumph for the Burkes as Laurens is ridden every morning and was led up by Karl’s younger daughter, Lucy, while his wife, Elaine, is also a key figure at their Spigot Lodge yard in Middleham.

“It’s really special that Laurens continues to shine at this level [it was her third Group 1 win] and is so consistent - she gives you everything,” Burke said.

“It’s easy to sing P J’s praises after she’s won, but from the draw she had, he’s quite simply given her the perfect ride.

“He found an ideal position, he’d didn’t hurry her, he just let her find her rhythm and then asked her to quicken at the right moment.

“The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe has to be in our thoughts now, and she’s likely to have a couple of runs before then.

“She recovered rapidly after she won the Prix Saint-Alary here three weeks ago, and it’s four weeks between now and the Irish Oaks, so we’ll just have to get her home and see how she is. After that, John and I would like to take her to the Yorkshire Oaks as that’s our home race.”

Dance, owner of a Newcastle-based asset management firm who is likely to breed from Laurens at his recently-acquired Fair Winter Farm in Buckinghamshire once her racing days are over, added: “I bought her for £220,000 at the Goffs Yearling Sale in Doncaster, which is the most I’ve ever paid for a horse, but I fell in love with her from the moment I first saw her – and the fact that she was already named and shared her name with my youngest daughter obviously helped!

“It’s incredible to have a filly who is so calm. I came here with knots in my stomach but she was completely the opposite and after the race she didn’t turn a hair. To think that we joked about winning the Diane on the day that we bought her, and now we have actually won it, that’s really unbelievable.”