Prix du Jockey Club report and reaction: Look To Vega wins impressively at Chantilly

The only unbeaten colt heading into Sunday's 10-furlong Group 1, Look De Vega was taking a major step up in class after an impressive comeback win in a minor event at Longchamp but duly delivered in style under jockey Ronan Thomas.

Carlos and Yann Lerner's son of Lope De Vega had a good draw in stall two and sat handily throughout, before quickening to lead with around a furlong and a half to go. By the furlong marker the 4/1 joint-favourite was clear and in full control of the race, ultimately coming home two lengths to the good from 66/1 outsider First Look, who finished off well from further back.

Sosie (11/1) was third, while the Clive Cox-trained Ghostwriter (9/2) fared best of the British and Irish contingent in fourth. Aidan O'Brien's Diego Velazquez - the other joint-favourite - weakened to finish eighth.

Paddy Power cut the winner to 8/1 from 33/1 for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, with Saturday's Betfred Derby hero City Of Troy their 4/1 favourite for Europe's premier middle-distance contest on October 6.

"The only thing we were a little bit worried about is that he came out of stall number three and everything had to go right at that moment,” said Yann Lerner.

"But when I saw him get into that good position, I have never watched a race as relaxed as I did this one.

"When we won at Fontainebleau (in November) we immediately thought about this race, he had a more or less perfect winter until February, where we had a little bit of a setback, that was the only dark point in the past.

"What is really incredible is his mental state, we hadn’t worked him a lot since his first seasonal reappearance. Between the two races he didn’t do much, we took him to the Chantilly track because it was very important to us that he could see the track."

Lerner added of the prospect of running at Longchamp in the autumn: “At the moment we don’t have any plans whatsoever, this was the big plan and he confirmed today what we thought of him.

"We will go home and recover and see how he is after this race, however he does have an entry in the Arc and I think he can stay the mile and a half, absolutely no doubt.

“The Arc can be a very tricky race and he can adapt to those conditions, he is a horse that ticks all the right boxes because he has shown today what he can do in the future."

Thomas, for whom the success was a first at Group One level in France, said: “Obviously I am very, very happy, but more than anything I was so confident in this horse because I have been working with him since the end of last year and I was really impressed.

“He gave me a really good feeling, he won as we thought he would first time out and since then he’s made giant steps. Of course I respected my opposition today but I was always very confident.”

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