France: Palace Pier makes Prix Jacques le Marois fourth consecutive win
Palace Pier became the third horse to win consecutive runnings of the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville Racecourse in France on Sunday, but only after surviving a sustained threat from the outstanding 3-year-old Poetic Flare.
The win, the 4-year-old colt’s fourth consecutive, confirmed Palace Pier’s status as Europe’s top miler.
Ridden by Frankie Dettori for trainers John and Thady Gosden, Palace Pier raced in sixth of eight early in the $1.17 million race on a straightaway mile. Dettori moved Palace Pier to the outside with a quarter-mile remaining and was under pressure from Poetic Flare through the final furlong, winning by a neck. Palace Pier paid $3.40 in American pools.
Poetic Flare (3-1) finished 1 3/4 lengths in front of 17-1 Order of Australia, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland last November.
Poetic Flare won two Group 1 races for 3-year-old milers in England earlier this year – the English 2000 Guineas at Newmaket in May and the St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.
Palace Pier earned a fees-paid berth to the BC Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 6. John Gosden indicated after the race that the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Oct. 16 is a more likely target.
Owned by Sheikh Hamdan of Dubai, Palace Pier is unbeaten this year. The Prix Jacques le Marois, France’s top race for milers, was Palace Pier’s third consecutive Group 1 win, preceded by the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May and the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.
Palace Pier, by Kingman, was scheduled to start in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood Racecourse in England on July 28, but was withdrawn from consideration several days in advance because of a blood disorder.
John Gosden told the press after Sunday’s win that Palace Pier was not in peak form for his trip to France.
“I would have loved to have brought him here like he was last year at 100 percent,” he said. “He wasn’t, but he’s still run a great race.”
A winner of 9 of 10 starts, Palace Pier joins Miesque (1987-88) and Spinning World (1996-97) as the only two-time winners of the Prix Jacques le Marois. Palace Pier has won six stakes, including five at the Grade 1 level.