Palace Pier stays perfect with win in Prix Jacques le Marois

Palace Pier took his record to 5 for 5 with a sharp three-quarter-length win over the 3-year-old filly Alpine Star in the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois on Sunday at Deauville.

Frankie Dettori went to France from England to ride this weekend knowing he’d have to quarantine for 14 days upon returning home, but the trip was worth the travail. The day before Dettori rode Palace Pier to victory for trainer John Gosden, he piloted the Gosden-trained Mishriff to a comfortable win in the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano.

Three-year-old Mishriff won the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club over 1 5/16 miles in his previous start and led home The Summit and Victor Ludorom, the same two behind in in the Jockey Club, in the 1 1/4-mile d’Ornano. There are rumblings, of course, regarding a run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe over 1 1/2 miles in October, a race to which Mishriff has not yet been nominated, but Mishriff also could merely await the 1 1/4-mile Champion Stakes in England.

In a field of just four, Mishriff raced prominently throughout while going comfortably over a sodden Deauville course and was never threatened en route to a 4 1/2-length score. Owned by A A Faisal, Mishriff is a son of Make Believe and the Raven’s Pass mare, Contradict, and he has come on strongly as a 3-year-old this season.

Also on Saturday at Deauville, 4-year-old Sottsass took a loss as the heavy favorite in the Group Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club, his first start after a summer break and first of two lead-ins to the Arc, in which he was third last year. Sottsass was beaten a neck over heavy ground by soft-turf-loving Skaletti, who got a great ride from Pierre-Charles Boudot. Skaletti drifted back to last during the middle stages of the 10-furlong contest, but Boudot always kept Sottsass in his sights, following him into the final quarter-mile and dashing to the lead while on the inside of the favorite at the furlong grounds.

Sottsass, giving away six pounds in a mere tune-up, ran just fine in defeat, finishing four lengths clear of the third-place runner. The Peter Brant-owned, Jean-Claude Rouget-trained 2019 French Derby winner goes next in the Irish Champion Stakes. Five-year-old Skaletti, who can run with any horse on very soft or heavy ground, also will have group goals of some sort this spring.

As for Palace Pier, the one-mile Marois was a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In race offering automatic fees-paid entry into the BC Mile and travel expenses to Keeneland, but Dettori mentioned the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Oct. 17 as an objective for Palace Pier. Even racing over the heavy Deauville ground Sunday, Palace Pier showed good acceleration, coming from last in the early and middle stages to hit the front a furlong out.

Alpine Star also quickened and tried hard to stick with Palace Pier, and though she fell short of the winner, Alpine Star did put five lengths on third-place Circus Maximus, a tough older miler in his own right. Persian King finished another three lengths back in fourth and had a couple lengths on Romanised as the older horses failed to keep pace with their younger rivals.

Palace Pier ascended to the Group 1 ranks only this summer, capturing the St. James’s Palace Stakes by one length over Pinatubo, champion 2-year-old of 2019 and a salty 3-year-old miler himself. Palace Pier is by Kingman out of Beach Frolic, by Nayef, and along with the older horse Mohaather, an electrifying winner of the Sussex Stakes in his most recent race, he now sits at the head of the European miler division.

* Saturday at Cologne, favored Barney Roy finished fourth over soft ground in the Group 1 Preis von Europa as Donjah posted a 15-1 upset in this 1 1/2-mile fixture. Donjah is by Teofilo, and though he was bred in Germany and has German connections, the 4-year-old has an American link as a son of the Mt. Livermore mare, Dyanamore.