Palace Pier puts away Alpine Star in the Marois | Scoop Dyga
Heavy ground must have played against ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in Sunday’s G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois, but such is the prowess of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum’s unbeaten colossus that he overcame for a cosy success in one of the best renewals of recent times. Settled last early by Frankie Dettori, the 6-4 favourite who was successful in the June 20 G1 St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot moved to Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) with 300 metres remaining and on to a smooth 3/4-of-a-length success from that G1 Coronation S. heroine. Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was five lengths adrift in third.
Sunday, Deauville, France
PRIX DU HARAS DE FRESNAY-LE-BUFFARD JACQUES LE MAROIS-G1, €600,000, Deauville, 8-16, 3yo/up, c/f, 8fT, 1:38.06, hy.
1–PALACE PIER (GB), 125, c, 3, by Kingman (GB)
1st Dam: Beach Frolic (GB), by Nayef
2nd Dam: Night Frolic (GB), by Night Shift
3rd Dam: Miss d’Ouilly (Fr), by Bikala (Ire)
(600,000gns Ylg ’18 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum; B-Highclere Stud & Floors Farming (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. €342,840. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng, 5-5-0-0, €541,934. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Alpine Star (Ire), 121, f, 3, Sea The Moon (Ger)–Alpha Lupi (Ire), by Rahy. O/B-Niarchos Family (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. €137,160.
3–Circus Maximus (Ire), 130, c, 4, Galileo (Ire)–Duntle (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). O-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. €68,580.
Margins: 3/4, 5, 3. Odds: 1.30, 6.30, 7.10.
Also Ran: Persian King (Ire), Romanised (Ire), Pretreville (Fr), Restiany (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
by TDN
Dettori gamble pays off as ‘special’ Palace Pier pummels rivals in the Marois
Palace Pier made it a famous five straight wins in style as he roared home to land the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville under Frankie Dettori.
The three-year-old emulated his sire Kingman, who won the contest in 2014, with a blistering turn of foot to cruise past his rivals in the closing stages to go from last to first ahead of Alpine Star, beating that rival by three-quarters of a length.
Those two pulled well clear of the pack with Circus Maximus finishing five lengths back in third.
Dettori said: “Palace Pier is a special horse. We went a good gallop on testing ground. I asked him to get closer and before I knew it I was two lengths in front so it just shows what he can do. He’s a lovely horse to be around and has delivered a lot.
“Alpine Star is very good and I’m not surprised they finished first and second.”
The victory not only justified Palace Pier’s 13-10 favouritism for the race, but also the decision of Dettori to head to Deauville instead of next week’s Ebor meeting at York.
Dettori added: “I made the right choice to come. I knew I had two super horses and they both won, and I was very taken by Palace Pier’s performance today. The ground was testing, and he put it to bed in great style.
“I love the horse. He’s very cool, he’s got a good cruising speed, a great kick, nothing fazes him.”
The John Gosden-trained winner was cut to 5-1 (from 10) for the Breeders’ Cup Mile with Betfair Sportsbook and Paddy Power as a result of the taking success.
However, Dettori indicated that the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on British Champions Day at Ascot could be next on Palace Pier’s agenda.
“The QEII would be an obvious target knowing that he handles soft ground,” said Dettori. “He’s only run five times so I hope he stays in training as he has a lot more to offer.
The field went a decent pace on the heavy ground and were taken along much of the way by Pretreville, before Alpine Star was shaken up under Stephane Pasquier.
That filly put in a tremendous effort but did not have enough to repel the threat of Palace Pier, who looked in full control inside the final furlong to follow up his St James’s Palace win at Royal Ascot in June. (by : RacingPost)
