Qatar Prix du Jockey Club report: Ace Impact storms to victory

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget and ridden by Cristian Demuro, the son of Cracksman bounded down the centre of the track in the final furlong, reeling in the front-running Big Rock and going on to score in impressive fashion to take his record to a perfect four wins from four starts.

The prolific Big Rock was sent off the 5/2 favourite and ran a highly creditable race in second, with Marhaba Ya Sanafi (9/1) back in third and Feed The Flame (3/1) fourth in a finish dominated by the locals.

British raider Epictetus, trained by John and Thady Gosden, held every chance turning in, but Frankie Dettori’s mount faded to finish fifth, while Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous was in third throughout, before failing to see out the final furlong, eventually finishing eighth of the 11 runners.

Sky Bet make Ace Impact 10/1 for the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park, a race won by the Rouget-trained three-year-old Vadeni last summer, while Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook go 10/1 from 50/1 for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October.

Rouget, winning the race for a sixth time, was clearly taken by the way Ace Impact quickened up to win going away by three and a half lengths.

“I was impressed with his acceleration, because he really comes from a long way off,” said the trainer. “To think that Big Rock was in front and has got the race in the bag, and then 300 metres from the winning post he comes and gets him.

“We always saw in the mornings that he was a really good-moving colt and it is really impressive how he comes and gets Big Rock.”

Ace Impact was unraced as a two-year-old but has steadily progressed since making a winning debut over 10 furlongs at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in January.

Rouget added: “I actually had plans to take him to Deauville last summer to have his first race there. But when he arrived at Deauville from Pau, he didn’t have a very nice coat and didn’t seem to acclimatise himself very well.

“So, I decided to leave him alone and also didn’t think about the autumn. Then I saw his brother had won at Cagnes, so I thought why not try that? And he demonstrated that he had a really good stride and could quicken very quickly.

“This race (today) makes me think of the Epsom Derby in that the horse in front (King Of Steel) I thought was going to win, until Auguste Rodin came from the back, so it was very similar.”

The winning time of 2:02.63 was a track record, beating that recoded by Sottsass who won the same race for Rouget in 2019. He went on to finish third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe that same season, before triumphing in the European middle-distance championship the following year.

Asked if he is a horse who could head to ParisLongchamp in the autumn, Rouget confirmed: “I think he has got the profile. He is that type, he has that stride. I think he will prefer better ground.

“He will have to try to emulate Sottsass, who was effective in both good ground and soft ground. There are other races before the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe obviously, but we will aim him at the Arc.”

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