WINNER most recently of the Arqana -sponsored Critérium d’Automne, Master Man (Goken) was something of a David versus Goliath as he lined up for the Group 1 Critérium International at Saint-Cloud, one of a pair of weekend juvenile contests at the highest level.

The race attracted a strong overseas challenge, and many felt it would provide Aidan O’Brien with another Group 1 win in his attempt to break his own record for top-level wins in a calendar year. As it happened, his runners finished second and third but could not deny a fairytale win of sorts for Master Man, one of just two French-trained runners, the other being Francis Graffard’s Group 3 winner Zakkan.