PRIX D’ISPAHAN

(GROUP 1)

THE Churchill Coolmore Prix d’Ispahan featured a first Group 1 triumph for the Whipper colt Recoletos, trained by Carlos Laffon-Parias and ridden by the veteran, Olivier Peslier.

Recent winner of the Group 2 Prix du Muguet over a mile but campaigned at a mile and a quarter and beyond throughout last season, Recoletos overcame a slow start in this nine-furlong contest to register a comfortable length and three-quarter defeat of the British raider, Almodovar.

WRONG TRIP

Laffon-Parias was big enough afterwards to admit that he has been running Recoletos over the wrong trip, and a return to a mile trip is now planned for the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, for which he was generally priced at 10/1.

Almodovar is set to go the same way. Third in the mile and a half Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal Meeting back in 2016 before a serious injury kept him off the track for the best part of two years, he was running for just the second time for Roger Charlton, who said: “I am thrilled with his run but I think today’s trip was too far for him – he is certainly more of a miler.”