Pierre Bonnard completed a group 1 double for Aidan O'Brien with a determined victory in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud (G1) under Christophe Soumillon Oct. 26.
Sent off the 4-7 favorite, the lightly raced colt sat on the heels of leaders Endorsement and A Taste Of Glory before edging into contention down the home straight.
The Camelot colt took a moment to pick up, but he soon hit his stride and pulled clear of the field to provide Ballydoyle with their second group 1 win of the afternoon.
Pierre Bonnard was propelled to 7-1 favorite for next year's Epsom Derby (G1), while the Oct. 25 Futurity (G1) winner Hawk Mountain was pushed out to 10-1 (from 8-1) by the bookmakers following the result in France.
"Obviously, he's a Derby horse," O'Brien said. "We'll start him in a Derby trial and all he should do is get better. He's a beautiful horse with a long stride and a beautiful mind, and he stays very well, so he's very exciting for next year."
Once Pierre Bonnard kicked into gear, there was little to do for Soumillon, who enjoyed a hands-and-heels ride as the winner stretched two lengths clear of A Boy Named Susie.
"This is just mad, to win two group 1 races on the same day under a hand ride," Soumillon said. "On the turn, I was very aware that I didn't want to get caught for a turn of foot because he is a horse with a long acceleration who is still a little bit immature.
"Fortunately, we went a decent gallop and he was very comfortable with the rhythm. He takes a little bit of time to get going, so I was keen to launch my challenge early. But the way he finished, what joy!"
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Puerto Rico Wins Criterium International
The success followed on from Soumillon's success with Puerto Rico, who established his position at the top of the Two Thousand Guineas (G1) market with a striking effort down the home straight to win the Criterium International (G1) by 1 3/4 lengths.
It was the third win on the bounce for the smart 2-year-old, who earlier made all in the Champagne Stakes (G2) before improving again when stepping up to group 1 level in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1) on Arc weekend.
Sunday's victory proved he very much belonged at the sport's top level, with sponsors Betfred pricing Puerto Rico 8-1 for the Newmarket Classic over the same mile trip.
"He has a lot of talent, but he's a horse who looks around a bit, and you have to make sure he concentrates," Soumillon said.
"He was a little bit upset in the stalls, but I made sure we got a good start because he's very happy when he can dominate from the front. I wanted to go forward and I saw that the horse we had to beat (Cape Orator) was upsides but wasn't travelling as well on the home turn.
"I got a good blow into him there, and I knew he'd see the trip out well. He looks like he'll be a very good horse at this trip next year."
The Saint-Cloud double brought O'Brien's tally of group 1 winners this year to 25, putting him two steps closer to his record of 28 top-level victories achieved in 2017.
"He's an unusual horse, he has a lot of speed and stays as well so we wanted to see how comfy he'd be over a mile today," said O'Brien. "He's a very classy horse. I'd say he's probably a Guineas horse first and then the Derby."
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Arrow Eagle Triumphs in Prix Royal-Oak
Arrow Eagle showed that he could be a potent force over staying distances when surging to success in the Prix Royal-Oak (G1), the final group 1 of the French season.
In doing so he gave an early boost to the form of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe—a race in which he finished sixth behind Daryz—as well as achieving a race family double, given he is a Gleneagles half-brother to 2023 Arc hero Ace Impact.
Cristian Demuro bided his time as Double Major, the winner of the race in each of the last two years, made a bold bid for home off the final bend, before sweeping down the outside to deny Queenstown and Sevenna's Knight with room to spare.
"I've taken so much pleasure from riding this family, with Ace Impact and now him," said Demuro. "To win a group 1 with Arrow Eagle is incredible. I knew turning in I would have too much for the rest of them and it's wonderful."
Jean-Claude Rouget has guided the career or Arrow Eagle, as he did Ace Impact, and while he was absent from Saint-Cloud, there was plenty of joy to share around between Demuro and longtime assistant trainer, Jean-Rene Dubosc.
Demuro said: "Jean-Claude took his time to find the key with this horse but Jean-Rene and I always told him it would be the end of the year and over a trip that we would see the best of him. We've all been proved right."
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