QATAR PRIX DU CADRAN (GROUP 1)

THE Aga Khan’s Vazirabad went one better this year and landed the Prix Qatar Prix du Cadran but he was forced to pull out all the stops by Mille Et Mille who bravely attempted to make all the running in the two and a half-mile Group 1 contest.

Some of the spice was removed from the Cadran when Gold Cup winner Big Orange was pulled out of the race at the 11th hour. Michael Bell decided to scratch the six-year-old due to overnight rain and because Big Orange did not settle down on arriving in France. Big Orange now heads back to Ascot where he will contest the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup on October 21st.

Enjoying the cut in the ground, Mille Et Mille was relaxed at the head of affairs with Franck Blondel as Vazirabad and Christophe Soumillon loped along at the tail of the field of six. The long odds-on favourite took closer order halfway up the straight before tackling the obstinate Mille Et Mille inside the final furlong, who never gave up, and Soumillon needed to ask Vazirabad to dig deep before going on to win his 11th group race by half a length.

Trip To Rhodes was seven lengths away third, in front of High Jinx.

“I’m not sure we saw the best of Vazirabad today. He veered to the right in the straight but still won,” reported Alain de Royer-Dupré before adding: “He loves Saint-Cloud so will now go and try to win a third Prix Royal-Oak. He could then go back to Meydan. We haven’t ruled out a run in the Gold Cup [at Ascot].”

Yann Lerner, son of the trainer of the second-placed Mille Et Mille, said: “This has been the target for Mille Et Mille (Cadran winner in 2015) for a long time and we’ve rather abandoned the rest of the season for the race. He loves this distance and the testing ground. We’re now heading for the Royal-Oak.”