British pair outshine French aces

French stars Brametot and Almanzor were completely upstaged by British challengers Eminent and First Sitting in yesterday’s feature events at Deauville.

Jean-Claude Rouget’s pair of aces were looking to seal their places in some of the autumn’s biggest races on a blockbuster of a card, but instead their performances provided more questions than answers.

Brametot, winner of both the French 2000 Guineas and the French Derby, was considered one of the home team’s biggest hopes for this year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe prior to his appearance in the Group Two Prix Guillaume d’Ornano.

But he was unable to pick up in the straight and Martyn Meade’s stable star Eminent was away and gone after being given an excellent frontrunning ride by Ryan Moore.

Having finished sixth in the 2000 Guineas, fourth in the Epsom Derby and fifth in the Coral-Eclipse, Meade was ecstatic to see his pride and joy enjoy his day in the sun.

“He had a clear run and showed how good he is. I’m absolutely thrilled,” said the Newmarket handler.

Almanzor won the French Derby, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Champion Stakes during a brilliant 2016 campaign and, although he had been out of action for over 300 days, he was a warm order to make a winning return in the Group Three Prix Gontaut-Biron.

However, the response was minimal when Christophe Soumillon asked for maximum effort in the home straight and he was ultimately well beaten.

First Sitting, a Listed winner for trainer Chris Wall at Goodwood in May and most recently third in a Group Three at Chantilly, held off a strong finish from Garlingari in the hands of Gerald Mosse.

Martyn Meade: thrilled by Eminent’s victory.