Racing

Unbeaten Look De Vega will be targeted at Arc after landing Sunday’s French Derby

Ballydoyle hope Diego Velazquez manages only eighth in €1.5m Prix Du Jockey Club

Ronan Thomas and his horse Look de Vega win the 184th Qatar Prix du Jockey Club horse race. Photograph: Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images

Brian O'Connor
Sun Jun 2 2024 - 19:00

Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore failed to complete a Derby double in Paris on Sunday as their hope Diego Velazquez was out of the money behind unbeaten winner Look De Vega in the Qatar Prix Du Jockey Club at Chantilly.

The sole Irish hope was one of the first under pressure in the €1.5 million French Derby and stayed on up the straight to finish eighth behind the impressive winner.

If Saturday’s Epsom hero City Of Troy lost his unbeaten record in last month’s 2,000 Guineas, France has a new Derby hero with a flawless record as Look De Vega dominated the finish under jockey Ronan Thomas.

The French rider with the Irish forename ran out a smooth two length winner on a colt having just his third start. The 66/1 outsider First Look beat his Andre Fabre trained stable companion Sosie for third. England’s Ghostwriter was fourth.

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Look De Vega lived up to a flawless ‘Jockey Club’ pedigree as his sire and grandsire landed the race while he is also a relative of the 2007 winner Lawman. One of his trainers, Carlos Lerner, originally from Argentina, trained Anabaa Blue to win the French Derby in 2001.

In contrast, it was a first Group One success for Ronan Thomas who said “the sky’s the limit” for France’s new star performer. He immediately pointed towards October’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as a long-term target and the horse is an 8/1 shot for that with some firms.

“This is amazing. I’m very pleased of the accomplishment of this horse and I was really more confident for this race than last time. Between the two races the horse improved a lot, and he was very quiet today and in a very good mood.

“He was really perfect between the two races and his work ten days ago was amazing. This horse is really professional – he’s perfect,” said Lerner’s son and co-trainer Yann.

[ City of Troy secures spectacular Derby win at Epsom ]

Look De Vega is set for a midsummer break and a traditional French Arc preparation where he will attempt to complete a double achieved by Ace Impact a year ago.

Separately, Bank Holiday Monday sees the inaugural running of the €200,000 Irish Stallion Farms Gowran Classic, the richest race run at the Co Kilkenny track.

There is free entry to the track for a race designed to boost the programme for three-year-old middle-distance horses in Ireland. Restricted to horses with a median price of no more than €75,000, the winner will get free entry into the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby later this month.

A maximum field of 17 line up and it is an entirely domestic affair with Joseph O’Brien and Ger Lyons represented by three horses each. Aidan O’Brien’s sole hope is Ocean Of Dreams.

Colin Keane has opted for Soldier’s Empire in the big race and the champion jockey could go into it on the back of a winner if Star Kissed thrives for a return to better ground in the preceding handicap.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor is the racing correspondent of The Irish Times. He also writes the Tipping Point column

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