Cherry Mix wins Premio Roma

Cherry Mix provided Sheikh Mohammed with some consolation for the defeat of Bernardini in the Breeders' Cup Classic when he galloped to a four-length victory in the Group 1, $407,000 Premio Roma at the Capannelle on Sunday.

A 5-year-old son of Linamix, trained by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Ted Durcan for Godolphin, Cherry Mix led throughout the 1 1/4 miles to leave Hattan in his wake, with Premio Presidente della Repubblica winner Distant Way 1 3/4 lengths back in third. In victory, Cherry Mix, 3-1 was denying a third consecutive Premio Roma triumph to Soldier Hollow. Trained by Peter Schiergen, Soldier Hollow went off the 3-1 favorite but was beaten by six lengths in finishing fourth under Stephane Pasquier, who replaced Olivier Peslier. Peslier was unable to arrive in time from Churchill Downs, where he had ridden on Saturday. The winning time on good ground was a swift 1:59.40.

Second to Bago in the 2004 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when trained by Andre Fabre, Cherry Mix was winning his third Group 1 race for Godolphin. Earlier this year he had taken the 1 1/2-mile Rheinland-Pokal at Cologne while last year he had landed the 1 1/2-mile Gran Premio del Jockey Club in Milan. A trip to Sha Tin for either the Hong Kong Cup or Vase could be next on his agenda.