Amusingly Defeats Males in Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere

Amusingly (GB) put a big smile on the face of her connections after the only filly in the line-up came out on top in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1) Oct. 4 at Longchamp. Rather than take on her own sex over a furlong further in the 1-mile Prix Marcel Boussac (G1), Amusingly was instead supplemented for the Lagardere on the advice of trainer Francis Graffard and she showed considerable speed to beat group 1 winner Folsom Blues (IRE) by 1 1/4 lengths under Colin Keane. The last filly to beat the colts in the Lagardere was Happily back in 2017 and Graffard felt Amusingly had enough pace to be considered a potential Commonwealth Cup (G1) prospect next season, while bookmakers offered a general 10-1 for the One Thousand Guineas (G1). "The job of training racehorses is to take responsibility for making big decisions," Graffard said. "She'd already beaten the second (Data) from the Marcel Boussac very easily, so I was hoping I hadn't made a mistake, but I listened to her properly and I had the backing of the Juddmonte team, which makes this victory very sweet." Any discussions about a possible tilt at the Breeders' Cup have yet to be had, but Graffard reiterated that speed rather than stamina is her biggest weapon. The Lagardere did carry an automatic, fees-paid berth to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win And You're In. However, the Juvenile Turf is restricted to colts and geldings. According to Breeders' Cup, connections can apply the entry fees won to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) if they so choose, but she will not receive an automatic starting position in that race. Instead, she would need to be selected by the Breeders' Cup racing directors panel, which as a group 1 winner she likely would be. The race also awarded Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points to the top 5 finishers on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale on the Euro/Mideast Road. "The key is her speed," France's champion trainer said. "I said to (Juddmonte racing manager) Barry Mahon that I think she's more a Commonwealth Cup filly than a Guineas filly for next year, but today is a big win and I just want to enjoy that. We have a lovely filly for next season." Victory came as no surprise to Mahon, who couldn't believe she lost her unbeaten record behind Ed Bethell's Rogue Passion (IRE) in the Prix d'Aumale (G2) on her previous start. "She's exceptional," he said. "We were disappointed the last day but she hadn't run for three months going into that and the mile stretched her, hence the reason she was supplemented for the colts' race. She's very quick." Folsom Blues, sent off at odds-on following his win in the National Stakes (G1), was unable to concede four pounds to the winner but time may prove he lost little in defeat in second. "It was a great run," trainer Joseph O'Brien said. "The winner looks very special. Our colt ran brilliantly and he's a very exciting colt from the future. I think we've no excuses. "We know ours is a special colt and that's what these group 1s are about. He's a sprinter/miler and we'll look at going down the classic route and then see whether we come back to sprinting. He's a fast horse who might stay a mile." Should he fail to stay the Guineas trip, a Commonwealth Cup rematch with Amusingly at Royal Ascot could be a race to savor. Green Empress Takes Prix Marcel Boussac Green Empress (IRE) showed the value of a string of defeats, as well as a group 2 victory, when edging out the game Data (GB) to land the Prix Marcel Boussac (G1), giving Joseph O'Brien the perfect start to Arc day. A record of a win and three seconds might not have sounded like the recipe for success for the Saxon Warrior (JPN) filly, but all three of those defeats came at the hands of Sun Goddess (IRE), and Green Empress underlined her status as a serious Classic candidate for next year when getting the better of a desperate finish under an inspired Christophe Soumillon. "It was a great ride from Christophe," O'Brien said. "It's really special to have a group 1 winner on this day, for Prince Faisal and the Thoroughbred Corporation, managed by Jane (Mangan). "She's only been beaten by Sun Goddess this year. It's nice for her to win her group 1 today. "She has the pedigree (to train on); she's out of a Sea The Stars mare. We see her as a miler who might go 10 (furlongs) at some stage. We'll see how she comes out of today, and we'll discuss with Prince Faisal and the team whether we go to America or wait until next year." The Boussac was the first of a slew of races on the card that were part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win And You're In, offering an automatic, fees-paid berth to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). For the Thoroughbred Corporation, it was a first group 1 success in Europe since Elusive City for Gerard Butler in the 2002 Prix Morny (G1). "We're very lucky to have the support of some great people and a wide variety of owners," O'Brien said. "For us it's all about focusing on performing and executing at big meetings. It's fantastic to have a big winner on Arc day. It's a big day and it's a good start." Data and the supplemented Allela (IRE) filled out the second and fourth spots for Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, and racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau believes there is plenty to look forward to with both fillies. "We believed all the way to the finish!" Bureau said after Data had gone down by a head under Pierre-Charles Boudot. "Last time out she had a very bad trip, but we were never able to get a handle on whether it cost her victory or not. With the way she's run there, I think we know now. "Christopher Head had prepared her for this race from a long way out, and even after finishing third in the Prix d'Aumale, we decided to stick to that plan. We'll take our time to think about it, but that could be her for the year." Of Allela, he added: "She ran very well and I think she perhaps lacked a bit of experience because she pulled quite hard and has had a good blow afterwards. She is a physically imposing filly and we can really look forward to her at 3." There was a tragic postscript to the race as the Ralph Beckett-trained Spirit Tango suffered a fatal injury after being pulled up sharply by Oisin Murphy at the entrance to the home straight.