Gezora takes Prix de Diane honours at Chantilly from Bedtime Story

Rhyl Journal

a day ago

Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and ridden by Christophe Soumillon, Gezora raced in the pack through the 10-furlong contest before switched out to launch her challenge with around a furlong and a half to run.
She kept finding for pressure all the way to the line, having enough in reserve to hold off the Aidan O'Brien-trained Bedtime Story, who only narrowly failed to come from last to first under Ryan Moore.
The Charlie Fellowes-trained Shes Perfect turned for home and momentarily looked she would again be involved at the business end, but while she was in front with two furlongs to run, she had raced keenly in second and was ultimately eased by Kieran Shoemark when her chance had gone.
Gezora was beaten by stablemate Mandanaba on her initial start in April, but the Almanzor filly landed the Prix Saint-Alary last time – a performance which gave Graffard plenty of confidence.
He said: 'She ran a nice race at Longchamp, she showed something new to me. She's improving all time and I saw after the race she really improved again, she was so happy, so confident in herself.'
Bookmaker reaction was positive to a Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe bid, with Coral introducing Gezora at 14-1, and Graffard added: 'It's great to have the Arc 'win and you're in races' and we know she loves the soft ground and we close no doors.'
Soumillon praised the winner's heart for a battle, saying: 'When they started to quicken in the straight I was following them really easily, I knew she'd be able to change gear and that's exactly what she did. The pace was on and she was ready to react at the right time.
'I saw Ryan coming on my outside and thought 'here comes Aidan again!', but she had a great heart and we won it.'
Asked about the Arc, the rider said: 'She can do a mile and a half, I think, we'll see what she can do in the Vermeille. We know she likes soft ground and the form from the Prix de Conde (last year) was great, the winner (Lazy Griff) was second in the Derby at Epsom and here (she is) the winner of the Prix de Diane, so sometimes you never know.'
For owner Peter Brant, the victory in his White Birch Farm colours was the realisation of a long-held ambition to win the French fillies' Classic.
Brant purchased Gezora after she won two of her four juvenile starts and was thrilled to see her better Sistercharlie, who was beaten just a length in the 2017 renewal before going on to a stellar American career.
He said: 'I think it's probably one of the three or four races I've dreamt of winning. I think it's the greatest three-year-old filly race – it's always stiff competition.
'We were second with Sistercharlie, a great filly who won seven Grade Ones and she couldn't even win this race because she got into trouble. It's a very difficult race to predict.'
O'Brien said of the runner-up: 'We're delighted with Bedtime Story's performance. She ran a magnificent race. Her improvement is clear. I've consistently run her in good races, and she's now showing her true form.
'This result, over this distance, opens a lot of doors. I'm not sure yet what we'll do next. We need to see how she comes out of it.'
Meanwhile, Fellowes will now drop back in distance with Shes Perfect, who finished ninth, and could also dip in class in search of what would a deserved Group-race win.
He said: 'I think it's clear she just didn't really stay. I always thought 10 furlongs would be in her range, but then she did a really sparkling piece of work earlier in the week and I thought maybe she had more speed than I gave her credit for.
'She won a Pouliches so we have a very, very good filly, it was the right thing to roll the dice here over 10 furlongs and we have learned a lot.
'The Falmouth would be the obvious race for her, but we might even think about dropping back in grade to try to get her head in front, give her a bit of a confidence boost and get that stakes win.
'I have a slight niggle in the back of my head that she might prefer a bit of ease underfoot, even though she ran so well in the Pouliches, maybe she was just saving herself a bit today as I walked the course and it was fast enough.
'If it turned up quick for her next run, I wouldn't shy away, but I think we'll let the dust settle a bit before making a firm plan.'