SOUTHERN France could only manage a 19th in the Lexus Melbourne Cup but the former Aidan O’Brien inmate put that behind him for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace when taking the Group 2 Zipping Classic over 2,400 metres at Sandown last Saturday.

“I wanted to give him a gallop just to see how he was before we accepted and he worked really well on Wednesday. That gave me the confidence to give him the nod,” said Maher.