The Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques Le Marois (Group 1)

IT was just like old times.

Almost half a century on from the likes of The Minstrel, Alleged and Sadler’s Wells, at Deauville last Sunday the green, blue and white Sangster silks were again sported to a big race triumph by a resident of Ballydoyle Stables, County Tipperary.

Diego Velazquez held off the rocket-propelled finish of Notable Speech by a head to land the Group 1 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques Le Marois and leave Sam Sangster, who had purchased the winner just days before, overwhelmed with emotion.

Ecstatic tears flowed as thoughts of his late father, Robert, who revolutionised the bloodstock industry in partnership with Coolmore Stud supremo John Magnier and the former Master of Ballydoyle, Vincent O’Brien, all those years ago came flooding back.

This was a real coup for Sangster junior, plundering a crucial first Group 1 success with the four-year-old Diego Velazquez so soon after he had made public both his acquisition and the intention to retire the son of Frankel to the English National Stud at the end of this season. His dad would have been mighty proud.

It was a strange day for Aidan O’Brien. No less than 21 years after Russian Blue, the last Sangster-owned member of his string, had graced the same turf while finishing third in the Prix Morny, he collected just his second Marois. The other had come courtesy of Frankel’s most regular whipping boy, Excelebration, in 2012.

Clearly thrilled, O’Brien said: “When you look back at the history of Ballydoyle and these colours, it’s extraordinary to have another big winner for the Sangsters. Diego Velazquez is a superb model and he only really came to himself in the last week or so.

“A lot of money has been spent on him this week to secure his services at stud, but sometimes money isn’t what matters. The memories that he made today, you can’t buy those.”

Tame run from Lion

Yet victory could not hide the fact that, while the winner was sent off at odds of over 12/1 in the hands of Christophe Soumillon, the yard’s first string, The Lion In Winter, who had been the subject of outrageously high expectations after his unbeaten juvenile campaign, dropped out very tamely having made the running to finish last of 10.

And, just 35 minutes later, one of O’Brien’s big classic hopes for next season, Daytona, lost his unbeaten record when finishing third as the odds-on favourite for the Group 3 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Francois Boutin.

After taking a moment to compose himself, Sangster said: “This means a lot. I think about dad all the time and he never managed to win the Marois. M.V. Magnier is one of my oldest friends and, when I came up with the plan to buy the horse, he was very supportive.

“He’s an absolutely gorgeous horse, a phenomenal mover. We were lucky to buy him and even luckier now, that’s for sure. I’m a little lost for words, I’m so delighted.”

The Marois is a ‘Win And You’re In’ race for the Breeders’ Cup Mile on November 1st and O’Brien reported afterwards that he had always thought that the American style of racing would suit Diego Velazquez, so Del Mar is set to be his ultimate goal.

Diego’s fortune

Not unlike its sprints, Europe’s top all-aged mile races have produced a plethora of shocks this season. Diego Velazquez was fortunate both that a bruised foot stopped the favourite, Rosallion, from participating, and that Notable Speech found the winning post coming a stride too soon, his rider, William Buick, having been forced to wait just a moment too long in order to obtain a clear passage.

Charlie Appleby, trainer of the runner-up, said: “It’s frustrating to be beaten by such a small margin, but the most important thing is seeing Notable Speech back to his best. We tried him over six furlongs last time, sometimes you need to experiment, but a mile is his optimum trip and the plan now would be the Woodbine Mile prior to the Breeders’ Cup.”

The result also represented a return to form for both Dancing Gemini and Docklands, who were separated by a neck in third and fourth, three-quarters of a length behind Notable Speech. Like Diego Velazquez, both benefited from holding prominent positions in the early stages as The Lion In Winter cut out a modest gallop.

Dancing Gemini deserves extra credit because the stewards made a late decision to not allow him to run in his usual bit, one that he had worn without comment during his only previous French start. His trainer, Roger Teal, said: “He’s run an exceptional race, especially given that this ground is on the quick side for him. We will probably give it another go in the Prix du Moulin [on September 9th] when we hope it will be a bit softer.”

AFTER a long association with the Niarchos family, Marois day was sponsored for the first time by The Aga Khan Studs, so it was fitting that one of its home-breds, the Sea The Moon colt Rayif, turned out to be the juvenile star of the day, taking his record to two-from-two with an eye-catching two-and-a-half-length defeat of Joseph O’Brien’s Andab in the Group 3 Prix Francois Boutin, under Mikael Barzalona.

The winning trainer, Francis Graffard, reacted: “From where I was standing that looked like an extraordinary performance. The Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere [on October 5th] is his [Rayif’s] most likely target, though I wouldn’t want to see him get bogged down in soft ground.”

Hot form

Elsewhere during the afternoon, Andre Fabre continued his fine run of form when saddling the Prix de Royallieu-bound Inadalimos to an impressive two-and-a-half-length defeat of the Sir Mark Prescott-trained Consent in the Group 3 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Lady O’Reilly.

And John and Thady Gosden’s Damysus, not seen since getting upset in the stalls and trailing home in last in the Epsom Derby, got back on track with a two-length triumph in the Listed The Aga Khan Studs Prix Nureyev.

Japanese winner

Saturday’s feature, the €183,000 Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano for three-year-olds over a mile and a quarter, witnessed a three-and-a-half-length victory for the Japanese raider, Alohi Alii. The winner will remain in France to contest the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, though that race will be a much more demanding test than this five-runner contest where he was allowed an uncontested lead and took full advantage.