Court Canibal upsets Prix Exbury

Court Canibal scored an 18-1 upset in the Group 3 Prix Exbury on Saturday at Saint-Cloud, claiming a three-quarter-length victory over the 11-1 mare Diyakalanie in the 1 1/4-mile, $103,000 contest, the first group race of the year in Europe.

The winning Montjeu 4-year-old, trained by Mikel Delzangles for the Marquesa de Moratalla, came from 10th to first under Olivier Peslier while traveling the 10 furlongs in 2:14.20 on holding ground that rated somewhere between very soft and heavy. Idle since December, the British-bred Court Canibal was winning for the first time since his first-out maiden score at Fontainebleau on Nov. 13, 2007, and will next try the 1 1/4-mile, Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp on April 5.

The disappointments in the 11-runner field were the 5-2 favorite Loup Breton, who was beaten 1 1/2 lengths into fourth after a somewhat troubled rail trip, and 9-2 second choice Trincot, who came home eighth.