THE Diane result topped off two decades of hard graft for Co Wexford-born Patrick Joseph McDonald.

Unusually, he has no racing connections in his family, but for some reason always wanted to be a jockey and was taught to ride by Dusty Sheehy before being mentored in point-to-points by Padge Berry.

After starting out with Kevin Prendergast in 1998, he spent four years with trainer Charles O’Brien but managed only 60 rides and three winners and was on the cusp of jacking it all in when ex-jockey Michael Cleary suggested that he try his luck jumping in England with trainer Ferdy Murphy.

It was Murphy who provided the majority of his 36 jumping winners over the next three years (most notably the 2007 Scottish Grand National aboard Hot Weld) and was also the man who suggested that, given his light weight, McDonald keep himself busy back on the flat over the summers.

Since giving up jumping altogether just months after Hot Weld’s win, he has been riding at least 40 flat winners a year, culminating in a 2017 campaign which produced 128 victories and the beginnings of his association with Laurens.

Self-effacing in the face of Diane glory, McDonald said: “Laurens is a very easy filly to ride – I was just a passenger in the early stages as she did it all herself, I could have put her wherever I wanted.

“Once we hit the front I wouldn’t say that I knew she was going to win, but I did know that she is such a good filly and would dig so deep that if anything was going to get past me they were really going to have to battle.

“As a kid I always dreamt of winning a classic but once you start out you realise how difficult it is. I’ve always believed that I had the ability but it takes more than that, you have to get on the right horses, and for that I am just so grateful that I got in with Karl and met John. Now I’m crossing my fingers that it’s going to continue.”

Chantilly not so happy

AIDAN O’Brien’s Chantilly classic hex continues. At the venue where he enjoyed arguably his finest hour, when saddling a one-two-three in the 2016 Arc, Happily’s fourth place in the Prix de Diane Longines meant that he has had over 40 runners in Chantilly’s biggest three-year-old races without a single victory.

After getting a lovely early position in third place, Happily was twice shuffled back as first Homerique and then Laurens came over on top of the front runners.

In the straight she was behind a wall of horses with nowhere to go for the best part of a furlong and a half and, once she did find room towards the inside with 200 yards to run, her turn of foot was only good enough for fourth place in a four-way photo for second.

Ever polite, O’Brien reacted with ‘she’s runs well and has all the options open to her’ but he must have been disappointed.

UNLUCKY

The runner-up, Music Amics, could potentially also be described as a little unlucky, though in truth she made her own misfortune.

She travelled even worse than she had done in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and was shoved along for almost the entire race, detached in last until two and a half furlongs from home.

Her trainer, Andre Fabre, said: “She’s always been laid back, that’s just her, you can’t change her.

“We will consider the Irish Oaks for her now.”

Maybe a pair of blinkers might just do the trick for her?

Wusool wows for Rohaut

ANDRE Fabre again had to settle for second in the Group 3 Prix Bertrand du Breuil Longines, Trais Flours going down by a short neck to Hunaina, who will now step up to Group 1 company for the Prix Rothschild.

Fabre did, however, have his moment in the sun via a narrow victory in what looked like a sub-standard Group 2 Prix Hocquart Longines courtesy of the Farhh colt Nocturnal Fox, who is now bound for the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris.

The star of the Diane undercard was Wusool, the Francois Rohaut-trained son of Speightstown who ran away with the Group 3 Prix Paul de Moussac Longines. He will be difficult to beat in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat at Deauville on July 8th.