Racing: Hurricane Run suffered a shock defeat, and only the second of his career, when narrowly beaten by Pride at Saint-Cloud yesterday.
Running left-handed for the first time, last year's Arc de Triomphe hero was caught in the dying strides by Alain de Royer-Dupre's mare in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
Much of the racing world had expected Hurricane Run to have an easy warm-up prior to a tilt at next month's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, but it was not to be.
Christophe Lemaire brought Pride with a well-timed run to snatch the valuable prize by a head, edging out Hurricane Run after Kieren Fallon had fashioned a clear lead aboard the favourite.
Fallon had been niggling Hurricane Run along with half a mile left to run, but the son of Montjeu found his stride entering the straight and seemed to have settled matters when asked to go about his business.
Lemaire conjured a rare turn of foot from Pride however, and she thundered home to gain the day close home, with Laverock a further two lengths away third.
Following the reverse, Fallon indicated that he had never been happy aboard the favourite.
"He was never travelling," the Irishman said. "He felt like a different horse to the one that I rode at the Curragh (in the Tattersalls Gold Cup)."
Ladbrokes reacted by pushing Hurricane Run out to 5-4 (from 4-5) in the betting for the King George.