Laurens holds on in Prix Rothschild

Laurens, bred in France and based in England with trainer Karl Burke, won her third Group 1 race in France in Sunday’s $333,840 Prix Rothschild for fillies and mares at a mile at Deauville Racecourse.

Laurens, the 9-5 favorite, was always near the front in the race run on a straightaway. Ridden by P.J. McDonald, Laurens led a group of six runners in the middle of the course through the first half-mile, while three others raced closer to the inside rail.

Laurens took the overall lead midway through the race and was fully extended to hold off With You, who won the 2018 Prix Rothschild.

Obligate, one of three 3-year-olds in the field, was part of the group racing on the inside. She closed from off the pace to finish third, two lengths behind Laurens. The Prix Rothschild was Obligate’s first start outside of her age group and her first loss in her fourth start.

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Laurens, a 4-year-old by Siyouni, races for John Dance, and has won 8 of 14 starts. She has won six Group 1 races, including the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris in May, 2018, and the Group 1 French Oaks at Chantilly Racecourse in France a month later.

Laurens’ other Group 1 wins were in England and Ireland. The Prix Rothschild was her third start this year and first outside of England.

Laurens was second in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury Racecourse in May and sixth in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 18. Those races were against males at a mile.

In her last start against fillies and mares before the Prix Rothschild, Laurens won the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket last October.