Godolphin’s Hurricane Lane followed up his Irish Derby victory with a dominant performance to capture the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp on Wednesday evening for trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick.
The Mediterranean set the pace as Buick settled his mount in behind before making a decisive move two furlongs from home to move Hurricane Lane into the lead.
Once doing so, the three-year-old soon put the race to bed and pulled clear to win by six lengths from the Aidan O’Brien-trained Wordsworth. There was a further one and a quarter lengths back to Alenquer in third.
Buick was impressed with the performance and said: “It was a more straightforward race for me than in Ireland. We were better placed today and the ground was maybe a little bit kinder on him. But I think he’s improved again.
“Credit to Charlie and the team at home to get him out of the Irish Derby. He had a hard race there and they were adamant this was a good target for him and they’ve been repaid.
“I was really impressed with him today. He keeps getting quicker. In Ireland he showed a bit of a turn of foot. And then today, I know the ground is slow today but it’s quite a quick track. You run downhill and then the straight is dead flat, there’s no rise in it. He really picked up. He put it to bed really quick. He’s improved again and he’s just a very good horse.
“Charlie will speak to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and they will make a plan for the horse. I would say one eye will certainly be back here in October.”
Delve into the breeding behind Hurricane Lane in Nancy Sexton’s in-depth focus on his pedigree here