Parislongchamp© Photo Healy Racing
Mqse De Sevigne just got her head in front when it mattered most to edge out Horizon Dore in the Prix d’Ispahan at ParisLongchamp.
Alexis Pouchin had to weave through horses on Andre Fabre’s mare and it looked for a while as though last year’s Prix Dollar winner Horizon Dore may have done enough to shade it.
However, 9-4 favourite Mqse De Sevigne dug deep to gradually get the better of a ding-dong battle over the final furlong and got the nod by a short-head.
It was a third Group One success for the admirable five-year-old, who struck twice at Deauville in elite-level company by narrow margins last summer before chasing home Inspiral in the Sun Chariot at Newmarket.
Fabre told Sky Sports Racing: “She showed ability and she quickened well. I think she has a new balance now as a five-year-old; she is stronger and easier to train, so we still have a bright future with her.”
Betfair reacted to this performance by cutting Mqse De Sevigne from 33-1 to 25-1 for the 2024 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Coral made the same move with the winner and trimmed runner-up Horizon Dore to 14-1 from 16-1 for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The Fabre-trained Sevenna’s Knight enhanced his credentials as a future Melbourne Cup prospect when grinding out victory in the Group Two Prix Vicomtesse Vigier over just short of two miles.
Mickael Barzalona had to stoke up the 6-4 favourite a couple of furlongs from home but he responded well to pressure to see off Shembala by a length and three-quarters.
It was another solid performance from the progressive four-year-old, who landed the Group Three Prix de Barbeville by eight lengths last time out.
Terry Henderson of Australian owners OTI Racing said: “He’s progressed a lot since he was a three-year-old and coming back for the Group Three and now this has really cemented our expectations for better things to come.
“It’s a breed that does improve with age, it’s well known that they tend to be better at four and five and that’s one of the reasons we were encouraged to buy him, so I think it’s simple maturity – mental and physical.
“We’ve certainly got a man who knows what he’s doing when it comes to bringing these horses along, we can now maybe give him one more run in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and then bring him back again later in the year.
“He was put under a lot of pressure from the 800 (metres) and Sevenna’s Knight was still able to sprint off that, which was a very encouraging sign that he’s going to come back in distance and do well.”
Asked about then possibly reverting to a staying trip for the Melbourne Cup, he added: “It’s one of the options.
“I think what happens in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud will dictate what direction we go in, we’ll either stay for the serious races at the end of the season or we’ll go to Melbourne.”
Young rider Pouchin partnered Exxtra to a smooth success in the Group Three Prix Du Palais-Royal for Carlos and Yann Lerner, with the Donnacha O’Brien-trained Yosemite Valley a beaten favourite when dead-heating for third alongside James Tate’s Mount Athos.
