A huge Champions Day clash is on the cards as Palace Pier has been committed to the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes after winning in France on Sunday, meaning he will put his unbeaten record on the line against the brilliant Sussex Stakes winner, Mohaather. “That’d be fabulous to see,” said John Gosden, an aficionado of high-quality racing as well as Palace Pier’s trainer, though he left the door open for another French trip beforehand, for next month’s Prix du Moulin.
“That’s possible,” said Gosden, after watching from his Newmarket stable as Palace Pier impressed in Deauville’s Prix Jacques le Marois. “We’ll see how he is when he gets home but to me his main target has to be the QEII in October and everything should really revolve around that.”
Gosden revealed he had had a large say in Frankie Dettori’s decision to travel to France, the jockey having come to him for advice at the end of last week when it became clear he would have to quarantine himself on returning to Britain and would miss York’s Ebor meeting. Crossing the Channel proved a sound decision, as the Italian also won at Deauville on Saturday aboard Mishriff, the two horses scooping more than £400,000 in prize money.
“I said: ‘Look, I don’t know about Palace Pier but the other horse’ll handle the ground. Look at the value of these important races. They put on a good show at York but I think you ought to go to France.’
“So what does he do, jump in his car and drives to Dover and queues up for two and a half, three hours to get on a ferry, managed to squeeze on. He phoned me from the ferry, I’ve never heard so many kids. All these people are still going on their holidays, they’re just sticking to it. I don’t think they’re going to do much isolating when they get home.”
Palace Pier won by a length from Alpine Star, the pair five lengths clear of Circus Maximus, and Gosden was gratified by how his horse coped with the saturated racing surface. “He didn’t like it. I must say he showed a lot of courage.”
Catterick 1.15 Altalune 1.45 Look Out Louis (nap) 2.20 Internationalangel 2.50 Shanghai Rock 3.20 Lady Nectar 3.50 Ice Station Zebra 4.20 Dandy Story 4.50 Alpin King 5.20 Tapis Libre
Uttoxeter 1.35 Le Grand Rocher 2.10 Sangha River 2.40 Vice Et Vertu 3.10 Lungarno Palace (nb) 3.40 I'lletyougonow 4.10 Flintrock 4.40 Barman 5.10 Dollar And A Dream 5.40 Go Hard Or Go Home
Windsor 3.55 Prince Of Bel Lir 4.30 Longlai 5.00 Enderman 5.30 Alwaatn Sound 6.00 Son And Sannie 6.30 My Poem 7.00 Domino Darling 7.30 Ashazuri 8.00 Dover Light
Dettori sang his mount’s praises in describing the victory. “At the 600m, I was getting a bit concerned because it’s very hard to make ground when it’s testing like this and I still had Alpine Star, Circus Maximus and Persian King in front of me. So I asked him to get closer and all of a sudden the turbo kicked in. From being three lengths behind, I was two lengths in front. It just shows you what he can do.”
The Italian will now spend the week in Normandy before riding again at Deauville next weekend. “We’re going to go food tasting, sightseeing. I’ve got a lot of friends here and I’m sure I’ve got plenty to do. Now that these two good horses have won, I can relax a little bit and enjoy a couple of days off.”
