Erdenali wins Prix du Moulin at Longchamp on Sunday

With his nemesis Bow Echo now retired, Gstaad was looking to strengthen his claims to being the best three-year-old miler in training by landing his first Group 1 against older horses. Instead, the race may well have thrown up another contender for that title as Gstaad could finish only third behind fellow three-year-old Erdenali who announced himself as another talented miler for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard and owner the Aga Khan Studs.

The same connections were successful in last month’s Prix Jacques le Marois with Rayif, also winner of the French 2000 Guineas at Longchamp in the spring.

Gstaad’s pacemaker Dorset and the free-going Opera Ballo helped force a strong pace, with Gstaad disputing third for much of the way, but with Aidan O’Brien’s Irish 2000 Guineas winner unable to pick up in the straight, the first two came from further back as Erdenali made ground in company with the Queen Anne Stakes winner Ten Bob Tony.

Erdenali saw off the challenge of his older rival inside the final furlong and went on to win in good style by a length and a quarter, while Ten Bob Tony turned around the Sussex Stakes form with both Gstaad and Opera Ballo who had finished ahead of him at Goodwood.

The winner had his odds for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes cut from 5/1 to 3/1 by Paddy Power and Sky Bet. Erdenali, who didn’t make his debut until March, is unlucky not to be unbeaten in five starts as he got no run at all until it was too late in the Group 3 Prix Messidor at Chantilly on his previous start when finishing a close third.

Nemone Routh, Director and French Racing Manager for the Aga Khan Studs, told Sky Sports Racing: "We were wondering if he was going to the Arc sale on not and I don't think we will now!

"Look, he's not a horse that shows very much in the morning. Honestly, if you'd seen him work this week, you wouldn't have been particularly impressed. But it all comes together in the afternoon. He should have been unbeaten; he should have won that Group 3 very easily and we had just a nightmare trip.

"So it was always the plan to come here. We needed to find out if he was a Group 1 horse and I think he's done that quite resoundingly. 


"They went really fast, but I think he can do anything, he relaxes in his races. He's a very relaxed horse. Mickael just had it in his head, he didn't want to get too far back because obviously the two main opponents, who we thought were the two main opponents, were going to be up there with the pace.

"So he just wanted to sort of stay on the curttails of Gstaad. And he just said, he's really grown up, he was quite a green horse earlier in his career, but, you know, that first race he ran this year, which was shown more times than when Calandagan won the race before in Dubai, I think we really discovered that he was quite special that day and he's proved it today.

"We have some other horses for the Foret. We have Samangan, if the ground doesn't get too soft, we have Rayif who might go to the QEII.

"We were thinking of taking him to Keeneland for a race after this if he could show us he's a Group 1 horse, but we might have to rethink a bit now. He's definitely shown us he's a Group 1 horse and a nice caveat is that his granddam won this race a few years ago, Ervedya. She didn't have very long at stud, but we're so lucky that we have her son at stud as well as I think she's a proper mare. It's a sort of new legacy that's forming."

Ed Walker said of the runner-up: "I'm very proud of him again. He's had an amazing season, we've been a bit more aggressive with him this year, with regards how much he's racing and on certain ground.

"He's in great nick and it's a huge run; a great ride by Tom (Marquand). Sadly Kieran (Shoemark) is banned hence Tom was riding. I thought we had it, I thought we'd done enough, I probably didn't give Francis's horse enough respect, he looks very, very good that horse."

Rogue triumph for Bethell

Earlier on the Arc trials day card, Rogue Passion (11/1) struck for the raiding party in the Group 2 Qatar Prix d’Aumale and was introduced at 50/1 by Paddy Power for next year’s Betfred 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Ed Bethell’s Sioux Nation filly had shown improved form to open her account in a Carlisle novice event on August 11 and she followed up in tenacious fashion as she saw off the Francis Graffard-trained Amusingly by a neck.

Winning rider Rossa Ryan said on Sky Sports Racing: “It was quite messy early on and I ended up slotting behind Maxime (Guyon, rider of Data), that was kind of half the plan. We were quick to get into position, turning down the hill she just grabbed a hold and I popped off the rail for four or five strides and then back on it.

“I was slow getting out (into the clear) but they came and she quickened up well. I thought that when I gave her a slap she really did knuckle down. I think she’s a filly that when she gets her toe in she will be even more effect. Ed has done a great job.

“The maiden she won in Carlisle the last day was franked, a couple of them came out and won maidens. Hopefully Ed and the team will have more to come with her, they’ve done a great job.”

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