An Aga Khan horse crossed the line first in the Group 3, $107,000 Prix de Fontainebleau at Longchamp on Sunday, but it was not the one who had been expected.
Rajsaman led throughout as the pacesetter for highly regarded Group 1 winner Siyouni and held off his entrymate by a half-length. The winning time for the mile on good ground was 1:39.36.
Viva Pataca held off Lizard's Desire in the $1.8 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday to notch the eighth Group 1 triumph of his career.
The victory, Viva Pataca's second in the QEII, allowed him to become the highest-earning horse in Hong Kong history. An 8-year-old gelding, Viva Pataca has bankrolled $10,219,190 since his first start in Hong Kong on Jan. 1, 2006, during which time he won 13 of 36 starts. Before that, he had won five times in eight starts in Britain, where he raced as Comic Strip, for total earnings of $10,324,655.
In a marvelous display of sheer class, Paco Boy returned to the races with a bang as he cruised to victory in the Group 2, $153,000 Sandown Mile at Sandown Park on Saturday. Ridden with aplomb by Richard Hughes, the 5-year-old Paco Boy captured this race for the second year in a row, having taken last year's running by three-quarters of a length.
French champion 2-year-old Siyouni begins his 3-year-old campaign on Sunday in the Group 3, $106,000 Prix de Fontainebleau, the key trial for the French 2000 Guineas over the same one-mile Longchamp course and distance. A son of Pivotal owned by the Aga Khan and trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre-trained, Siyouni comes off an Oct. 4 victory in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and will be ridden by Gerald Mosse.
Godolphin and Saeed bin Suroor had their first winner of the British season at Sandown Park on Friday as Chabal landed the Group 3, $100,000 Sandown Classic Trial. Frankie Dettori rode the Galileo colt from last of six to lead at the three-sixteenths pole for a comfortable 2 1/4-length victory in the fist serious prep for the Epsom Derby.
Lizard's Desire, a heartbreaking nose second to Gloria de Campeao in the Dubai World Cup on March 27, returns to action at Sha Tin on Sunday for a tilt at the Group 1. $1.8 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles on turf. Christophe Soumillon, who rode Lizard's Desire to victory in a pair of handicaps on the Meydan Tapeta surface this winter, reclaims the ride from Kevin Shea, who rode him in the World Cup.
Dariole prevailed in a three-way photo to lift the Group 3, $107,000 Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud on Thursday, holding on bravely near the line to win by a neck with A Media Luz and the British favorite Middle Club dead-heating for second.
Wesley Ward's victorious foray into the heady world of Royal Ascot last year has not gone unnoticed by American trainers. Ascot Racecourse announced on Wednesday that no fewer than five American-trained horses have been nominated to eight different races at the prestigious five-day meeting that will be held this year from Tuesday, June 15, to Saturday, June 19.
The Americans are led by Kinsale King in the Golden Jubilee Stakes. Carl O'Callaghan had a glowing report of his Dubai Golden Shaheen winner.