Missing From Sevigne repeated her victory 12 months ago in the race named after her family’s colours, with Alexis Pouchin jubilantly standing on the pedals to greet Deauville’s first crowd of the summer holidays.
Trainer Andre Fabre warned before the race that Mqse De Sevigne was not a sure thing to win against the pros, having won her maiden Prix Rothschild (G1) by just a short distance.
In the intervening year, both she and Pouchin have enjoyed Group 1 success but, with a career likely to end in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) over a mile and a half away, the daughter of Siyouni shows no shortage of defeat Amazing truth lengthwise, with Millennium Rogue won against another Irish-trained mare Pearl of the Ocean in the race for third place.
“Mqse De Sevigne has improved from three to four and now she is stronger at five,” said owner and breeder Edouard de Rothschild, who was clearly delighted to share the success with his wife and son, as well as long-time ally Fabre. “She won more easily than last year. This is a family that has improved with age.”
Rothschild added: “Obviously I’m particularly grateful that we won this race to honour my ancestors. This year, her main target is the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and she will be preparing for that at the Prix Jean Romanet back on this track.”
Mqse De Sevigne will therefore be attempting the double she achieved at Deauville last year, while her ability to run the mile for the first time does not seem to be a concern to those who know her best.
Pouchin won his first Group 1 title when Mqse De Sevigne scored on this day a year ago but his celebrations were far more over-the-top than we’ve seen from the quiet 23-year-old in any of his previous big-race victories.
“Last year I was a little bit surprised and didn’t realise what was happening,” he said. “But I had a lot of confidence in her today after what she’s shown this season and I knew exactly what we were getting into when we crossed the finish line.”
“Her advantage is that she has a great racing temperament and knows how to allocate her effort, regardless of the pace of the race. She doesn’t pull, doesn’t burn off excess energy and therefore she produces the same finish in the last 400 metres, regardless of the distance. That’s a big plus.”
Excellent Truth ran a career-best second on her third run back over the mile and trainer Mauricio Delcher Sanchez will now continue to help her improve, although the next stop is clearly Romanet and another meeting with Mqse De Sevigne.
“It was a really good performance and she didn’t steal second place by any means,” said Delcher. “She even closed the gap to the winner near the end and I think she’ll be even better in the 2,000 metres, as she seems to enjoy the track.”
Green Rose Center again failed to make a big impact, picking up speed as the race really got going but unable to catch the leaders and finishing last of the seven runners.
