CHARM Spirit (35-pace adjusted 41) rather reminded me of Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Domedriver when winning the Prix du Moulin.

Domedriver was an amazingly manouverable horse who could weave his way through the most densely packed field very quickly.

Charm Spirit emulated him by accelerating quickly to wriggle through a gap on the rail and then sprint to the line in just short of 33 seconds flat for the last three furlongs.

Charm Spirit didn’t quite get home when chasing the scorching early pace and running fifth in the 2000 Guineas but has won all his other four starts this season.

The way he stood off the challenge of smart runner-up demonstrates just how hard he is to beat, especially in a sprint finish.

I can understand why trainer Freddy Head says he plans to skip the Breeders’ Cup Mile with Charm Spirit this year. The horse is clearly still maturing and will probably be an even better proposition to give Head his sixth winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile next year (he’s had two as a jockey with Miesque and three as a trainer with Goldikova).

Whether Charm Spirit will do as well on the stiffer course at Ascot in the QEII I don’t know. My feeling at this stage is that he may struggle to last home, especially if there’s cut in the ground. He keeps on winning so I wouldn’t want to be too dogmatic.

Sustainable speed

The runner-up Toronado (35-pace adjusted 41) skipped the Marois to be kept fresh for this and very nearly gained another win at the top level.

Toronado is a great big horse who can sustain his effort at top speed for a long way. He does seem to take a lot out of himself as all this wins have come off breaks of at least five weeks.

The twice that he’s been asked to return to the races off breaks shorter than five weeks, he has choked up (displaced his soft palate) and run unplaced.

The QEII takes place just 34 days after the Moulin, and that’s probably a bit soon for Toronado.

Night Of Thunder (35-pace adjusted 41) came from the back and gained strongly all the way to the line. If he hadn’t tired so badly in the Eclipse, I’d be saying he looks like he wants to go up to 10 furlongs. He’ll certainly be better suited by the more testing track in the QEII at Ascot.

Esoterique (34-pace adjusted 40) produced her usual late rush but wasn’t quite good enough to beat three smart males. She excels in sprint finishes and would have a great chance of another Group 1 success if returning to Newmarket for the Sun Chariot Stakes.

Bawina (33-pace adjusted 39) kept on really well but was steadily outpaced by the sprint finish specialists surrounding her. She’s one of the best three-year-old fillies and looks sure to benefit from a step up to 10 furlongs.

German raider Sommerabend (33-pace adjusted 39) kept on nicely but once more showed he’s not quite up to winning a Group 1. He seems to love the French style of racing and would have won the last five times he’s run in France below Group 1 class but for bumping onto the smart seven furlong Longhcamp specialist American Devil and running second to him.

If Sommerabend takes up his entry in the Group 2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein at the Arc meeting he’ll surely be tough to beat.