Gentlewave rallies at Longchamp

Gentlewave came from last to first to win the Group 2, $157,000 Prix Noailles at Longchamp on Monday, outdueling his Andre Fabre-trained stablemate Bremen by a short head in the 1 5/16-mile French Derby prep.

For Gentlewave, sent off at 2-1, it was his third victory without a loss. He had previously landed a 1 1/4-mile maiden and the listed 1 5/16-mile Prix Maurice Caillault, both last month at Saint-Cloud. Ridden by Olivier Peslier, he was clocked in 2:11.00 on good ground. A third Fabre trainee, the favorite and French juvenile champion Linda's Lad, set a slow pace before being outpaced late to finish fourth, just three-quarters of a length behind the winner.

Fabre had another winner earlier on the card as Visindar cruised to a 2 1/2-length victory in the Prix du Champ de Mars. As a result of this victory, Visindar, winner by four lengths of his only previous start, a one-mile Saint-Cloud maiden last Nov. 12, is now the 5-1 co-favorite with Horatio Nelson for this year's Epsom Derby on June 3.