Dubai: Godolphin’s strongly fancied Wootton could only finish fourth as French-trained Olmedo won a thrilling renewal of the €600,000 Group 1 Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the French 2,000 Guineas, at an artistically renovated Paris Longchamp Racecourse on Sunday.
Runner-up in her last three starts including the Group 3 Prix de Fontainebleaue behind Wootton on his most recent appearance, Jean-Claude Rouget’s colt showed plenty of guts to beat Hey Gaman, the mount of James Doyle and Christophe Soumillon’s Dice Roll.
Only a neck and a nose separated the first three with Wootton, who needlessly speed around the field at the halfway stage, 1 3/4 lengths further back.
Aidan O’Brien’s Dubai Dewhurst and Middle Park stakes scorer US Navy Flag, ridden by Ryan Moore did most of the running before appearing to stumble and undermine his Doyle threw down the first challenge to the leader with Dice Roll making progress on the inside and Olmedo on the outside.
Earlier in the afternoon, Dubai’s Khalifa Bin Dasmal, saw his Epsom Derby-winning colours carried to victory by Diamond Wine in the Prix de l’Horloge.
A three-year-old gelding by French stallion Mulled Winer, the winner showed himself to be a promising sort with a second victory in as many starts, in France.
Diamond Wine was ridden by Francois-Xavier Bertas who won the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan last year aboard The Right Man. Bertras has had a long association with Pau trainer Francois Rohaut, for whom he has also ridden winners several significant Purebred Arabian winners.
Abu Dhabi Sports Council, in keeping with the UAE’s leadership vision to develop sport and youth activities, were the sponsors.
The French Classics returned to Paris’s historic racecourse, Longchamp, following a two-year absence while construction of a new grandstand was carried out.
The last two running’s of both the French 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas took place at Deauville.
