Dubai: Trip To Paris, ridden by Grand National winning rider Graham Lee, swooped late to deny favourite Quick Jack in the gruelling 3,600-metre Chester Cup on Wednesday.
Trained by Ed Dunlop, the winner showcased his superior staying ability with a three-quarter length victory over the Richard Hughes’ piloted Quick Jack, while Zafayan stayed on well to take third under J. Smullen
“Ripon would be a front-runners’ track and we came from last there, so I knew he had some toe,” Lee told Channel 4 Racing.
“He was hanging quite badly left hence why I wanted to lean him against the fence. It wasn’t great. I ended up dropping my reins on him in the straight. I looked like a sack of muck on him but at least he’s won!
“He’s always travelled well and like he showed at Ripon he’s got a turn of foot.”
Dunlop added: “He’s been a revelation to us this year. We ran very well in the King George V Handicap and then things went the wrong way. We gelded him, we won a mile-and-a-half handicap, I made this strange entry and he won!
“He was never coltish, just lazy, and he wasn’t helping his jockey. I remember Luke Morris got off him one day and said ‘I just wish he’d have given me any help!’.
“He’s got speed. He’s a mile-and-a-half-to-two-miles horse with a turn of foot as opposed to being an out-and-out galloper.
“He’s won this off 99 and he’s going to go up in the weights for this. There’s the Northumberland Plate, but a couple of the owners did say before this ‘If he wins, we’ll supplement him for the Ascot Gold Cup’.
“He might be the sort of horse to come into the picture for the Melbourne Cup. He’ll need to go up in the weights again, but we have Red Cadeaux for the race again and it would be cheaper to take two horses as it’s very expensive to get them out there.”
