The terrific strike-rate of French raiders at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile was reinforced yesterday with victory for the well named Miss France in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas.
The daughter of Dansili, who is owned and was bred by the Wildenstein family, had raced outside her home country just once previously, winning the Oh So Sharp Stakes at the same track last season and beating Lightning Thunder by a head. That same filly had to settle for second again, with Miss France making the most of her prominent position throughout the race to land the Classic spoils by a neck.
Her victory gave Andre Fabre a full set of English Classics, with France’s 24-time champion trainer having also won the 2000 Guineas with Zafonic (2003) and Pennekamp (2005), the Derby with Pour Moi (2011), Oaks with Intrepidity (1993) and St Leger with Toulon (1991).
He said: “It was exactly opposite to the way that I wanted her to be ridden but it worked. I also trained the dam of the filly I could not be more delighted.
“It is difficult to appreciate the pace but she will get further and she will now go for the Prix de Diane.”
Fabre’s stable jockey Maxime Guyon has enjoyed Classic success in his home country but it was his first win in an English Classic.
“This is the first time I have won this race and it is a really important race in England and I am really happy,” said the 24-year-old jockey.
“Miss France is a really relaxed filly and she had a great turn of foot to the finish. She is a really good filly.
“I was supposed to have ridden her from the back like every other time. She jumped really good and I didn’t want to pull her I preferred to let her go.”
Fabre and Guyon also combined to land the biggest supporting race on the 1000 Guineas card when Esoterique held off a determined effort from Integral to win the Group 3 Dahlia Stakes for Baron Edouard de Rothschild.
Another filly to make a favourable impression at Newmarket on Sunday was the John Gosden-trained Taghrooda, who shot to the head of the betting for the Oaks with a six-length win in the Pretty Polly Stakes – the race won last year by Talent before she went on to Classic success at Epsom.
Owned and bred by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, Taghrooda is the third stakes winner for her young sire Sea The Stars.