Former Captain Stafanie Taylor says the West Indies Women will need to emphasize spending time in the middle to have any chance of competing with Australia when the pair lock horns in three T20Is and three ODIs beginning on Sunday at North Sydney Oval.
The team is coming off a pair of home series wins against Ireland in July (2-0 in the ODIs and 3-0 in the T20Is) and will look to take that momentum into Australia.
A big reason for those series wins was the team’s batting. The first ODI saw the hosts bat the full 50 overs to post their second highest ODI score ever, 297-6, before successfully defending it.
The third ODI also saw an impressive performance with the bat, losing only four wickets and needing only 41.3 overs to chase down 203.
The T20s were no different with the West Indians securing a pair of eight wicket wins as well as a tense two wicket victory.
From an individual standpoint, after a rough few years due to a persistent back injury, Taylor enjoyed a welcome return to form during the ODI series.
She made scores of 55 and 79* in her two innings and is looking to continue that form against the current World Champions.
“I’ve been feeling really good for some time. The injury would’ve definitely slowed me down a little bit but it’s nice that I’ve been working hard to get my body back up and it’s been really good,” she said in a press conference ahead of Sunday’s series opener.
“For me, it’s trying to get myself back to the top and spending some time at the crease is going to be crucial because I find that once I’m able to do that, I know runs will come. I just have to believe in myself,” she added.
Just like in the Ireland series, the team will be a good mixture of youth and experience with some players who took part in the most recent ICC Under-19 Women’s World Cup as well as the CWI Regional Under-19 Women’s Tournament.
The 32-year-old complimented the youngsters before emphasizing that it is up to veterans like herself to help them achieve their full potential.
“I think we have a good crop of young players coming through. We’ve seen them in the Under-19 World Cup and it’s been really good so far where we have our Under-19 tournament that recently concluded in Trinidad and a lot of those U19s have been integrating with the senior team. You saw that in the recently concluded Ireland series,” Taylor said.
“Having them in the system, it’s for us to try an impart that knowledge that we have onto them and this series is going to be crucial for them but also it’s a learning experience and you don’t want to burden them too much,” she added.
As the most experienced member of the team, Taylor also provided insight relating to conversations she has had with the younger players in the team or players who haven’t yet played in Australia.
“Well I haven’t played here in a long time to be fair but, from what I’ve known is that Australian wickets tend to be a bit bouncy. It might be worth playing a bit late especially with the pace of the fast bowlers. I’ve played a few times at North Sydney and it’s a good wicket. I think the wickets here are going to be really good for batting. Spending time at the crease will be crucial if we want to score runs,” Taylor said.
This series will also be the first opportunity for new head coach Shane Deitz to take charge of the regional side.
In his own introductory press conference a few weeks ago, Deitz proclaimed that he wanted to bring a new attacking brand of cricket to the West Indies Women.
Taylor says that discussion hasn’t taken place quite yet.
“We’ve only had one practice session so far. We haven’t really had a meeting to discuss how we’re going to play or what it’s going to look like for this series. The first game is Sunday and we just had a meeting to welcome everyone and had a light practice session just to have a feel of things,” she said.
Foniska made every yard of the running to take home Listed honours in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Navigation Stakes at Cork.
Trained by Jessica Harrington and ridden by Shane Foley, Foniska was sent off a 12-1 for the mile prize having last been seen when beating only one horse home in the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.
That run came on quick ground, but conditions were much more testing at Cork, with Foniska relishing the challenge to come home three lengths clear of Snapraeterea and Clever And Cool beaten a further two and a quarter lengths in third.
Foley felt a combination of front-running tactics and soft to heavy ground had played to the Galileo filly’s strengths.
He said: “She has enjoyed making the running in the past. She had a good run in the Salsabil in Navan on deep ground and I think the key to her is ground.
“She went to Ascot when the ground was very firm and came back sore, but Mrs Harrington and (daughter and assistant) Kate have done a good job to get her back.
“Her work has really come on in the last couple of weeks and we were quietly confident coming down today, with the ground the way it was. I liked the way she picked up between the three (furlong pole) and the two and even down to the one again. She kept quickening and gave me a feel.”
Foniska sports the colours of the Niarchos family’s Flaxman Stables and Foley added: “I think she is improving and I don’t know if she’s in the (owner’s) dispersal sale or not, but if she stays in training, she will definitely compete in those better races next year on soft ground.
“Jessie will be delighted as the Niarchos family are massive supporters of our yard and it is a good time to be having good winners with the sales on.”
Course officials are expecting good to soft ground for both days of this weekend’s Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting at ParisLongchamp.
Conditions were described as very soft when Sir Mark Prescott’s Alpinista claimed victory in Europe’s premier middle-distance contest 12 months ago, while the going was heavy when Torquator Tasso caused a huge upset for Germany in 2021.
Testing terrain also prevailed for the Arc triumphs of Sottsass in 2020 and Waldgeist in 2019, meaning this weekend’s ground is likely to be the quickest it has been for Arc day since Enable successfully defended her crown in 2018 – the first renewal staged following ParisLongchamp’s redevelopment.
Charles de Cordon, clerk of the course at ParisLongchamp, said: “We are preparing for a very big weekend for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. I would like to point out that the track is new, having not been used since July 14, because on the day of the Qatar Arc Trials the rail was at nine metres, so we now have eight metres of new ground for the weekend.
“Since the Arc trials we have aerated the track with a mechanical spiker, which means there is better water infiltration. We also did some mechanical seeding to densify the turf and the turf has been rolled in order to get a smooth track.
“This week it is mainly just maintaining the track. It was mowed on Monday, it will be mowed on Wednesday and for the last time on Friday so that the grass has a height of 10 centimetres.
“The track is in very good condition.”
The official going on Tuesday was described as soft – but with little or no rainfall forecast for the coming days and no plans to water in place, conditions are expected to dry out slightly between now and the start of racing on Saturday.
De Cordon added: “The weather forecast is for our nicest days today and tomorrow and then from Thursday onwards temperatures will drop again.
“It is drying, but it is drying very slowly because we have a very heavy dew in the morning and it evaporates very slowly.
“For the weekend we believe that the ground is going to be good to soft. I get a lot of questions about whether we are going to water the track and that is not the case – we are not watering the track for Saturday nor for Sunday.
“There is a 25 per cent chance that it might rain on Thursday and Friday, but it will be very little – somewhere between zero and two millimetres, which will not make any difference to the track.”
George Boughey will wait until later in the week before deciding whether to send Cachet to France for Sunday’s Prix de la Foret or wait for the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket the following Saturday.
Last season’s 1000 Guineas heroine did not run between Royal Ascot last summer and this year’s St Leger Festival at Doncaster, an absence totalling exactly 15 months.
The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-owned filly could finish only fourth in the Group Three Sceptre Stakes on Town Moor, but Boughey was far from discouraged given the length of her absence and the fact underfoot conditions were more testing than ideal.
Having been pleased with what he saw from his Classic winner in a racecourse gallop on the Rowley Mile on Tuesday, Boughey is not ruling out a trip across the Channel for a Group One assignment on Arc weekend – but will be keeping an eye on the weather before making a final call.
“I was pleased with Cachet this morning and she is a lot tighter than she was on her seasonal debut. Mathematically she is a lot fitter on the scales,” said the Newmarket handler.
“The plan had been to go to France for the Foret as she would have loved the seven furlongs around the bend there and there is a stronger favourite in the Sun Chariot (Inspiral) than the Foret.
“However, the weather looks like scuppering that so we will probably aim her at the Sun Chariot now.
“The ground was too soft for her at Doncaster and hopefully it will be much quicker at Newmarket. We know she stays the mile and she should run well.”
Another Boughey-trained filly to be put through her paces on the Rowley Mile on Tuesday was Soprano, who will be stepped up to Group One level in Saturday’s Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes.
Although winless since making an impressive start to her career at Newmarket in May, the daughter of Starspangledbanner has since been placed in the Albany at Royal Ascot, the Star Stakes at Sandown, the Sweet Solera at Newmarket and the Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury.
With regular work rider Charles Eddery in the saddle, Soprano looked the part in her morning gallop and Boughey feels she merits a place in the Cheveley Park field.
He said: “I’m delighted with her. She worked with a decent four-year-old that is a five-furlong horse rated in the 90s and she showed plenty of pace.
“Charles Eddery, who rides her regularly, was delighted with her so it is all systems go to the Cheveley Park. She looks better than ever.
“She is a very balanced filly, which is so key at Newmarket, and she won on her debut at the track. I think she has got to have a lively chance.”
Christopher Head’s Big Rock will head to British shores for the first time to contest the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot.
The colt racked up a four-race winning streak earlier in the year that carried him from an all-weather handicap to victory in the Group Three Prix de Guiche.
That run then paved the way to the Group One Prix du Jockey Club, where he was beaten three and half lengths behind the well-fancied Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe contender Ace Impact.
Two more second-placed runs followed as Big Rock dropped back to a mile, finishing behind Inspiral in the Prix Jacques le Marois and Sauterne in the Prix du Moulin.
Now Big Rock could make his first start outside of France in the Group One QEII on October 21.
“He’s doing fine, he came out of the Prix du Moulin very well and he’s aiming for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes,” Head said.
“He has done some very nice work and everything’s all right, he’s a horse that has needed a bit of time between races and I’m very happy to have had that kind of break between the Moulin at Longchamp and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
“We have him back fresh and everything, so I think he will be more than interesting for his next race.
“Heavy ground is not a problem, whatever the ground does, it is not a problem for him.”
One horse from the Head stable that will not be seen again this term is Ramatuelle, a two-year-old filly by Justify who has enjoyed a highly successful juvenile campaign.
The chestnut has won three of her five runs this season and was the runner-up both times when beaten, with her successes including the Group Three Prix du Bois and the Group Two Prix Robert Papin.
Most recently she was defeated in the Prix Morny, a Group One in which she went down by just a short neck to the highly-regarded Vandeek.
That run was the last of the year for Ramatuelle, who will return for her three-year-old campaign in 2024.
“The owners have decided that she has had a very nice two-year-old season and they want to have a 100 per cent chance with her at three,” Head explained.
“They have decided not to run her again this season, she will be back next year in spring.”
George Boughey is readying his Classic heroine Cachet for a tilt at the Prix de la Foret at ParisLongchamp this weekend following a pleasing workout on the Rowley Mile on Tuesday morning.
Last season’s 1000 Guineas heroine did not run between Royal Ascot last summer and this year’s St Leger Festival at Doncaster, an absence totalling exactly 15 months.
The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-owned filly could finish only fourth in the Group Three Sceptre Stakes on Town Moor, but Boughey was far from discouraged given the length of her absence and the fact underfoot conditions were more testing than ideal.
In the immediate aftermath of that effort the Newmarket handler was in favour of sending Cachet back to the scene of her Guineas triumph for the Sun Chariot Stakes on Saturday week, but the likelihood of a sound surface in Paris this weekend has prompted a change of plan.
“I was pleased with Cachet this morning and she is a lot tighter than she was on her seasonal debut. Mathematically she is a lot fitter on the scales,” said Boughey.
“The ground looks like it will be decent in France and that is where we are leaning towards at the moment, plus there is a stronger favourite in the Sun Chariot (Inspiral) than in the Foret.
“The ground was too soft for her at Doncaster, but it should be a lot better in France at the weekend. It could end up raining in Newmarket and I don’t want to miss a chance like this.
“She will like the seven furlongs around the bend at Longchamp and we will make plenty of use of her. She is in good form and should run well.”
Another Boughey-trained filly to be put through her paces on the Rowley Mile on Tuesday was Soprano, who will be stepped up to Group One level in Saturday’s Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes.
Although winless since making an impressive start to her career at Newmarket in May, the daughter of Starspangledbanner has since been placed in the Albany at Royal Ascot, the Star Stakes at Sandown, the Sweet Solera at Newmarket and the Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury.
With regular work rider Charles Eddery in the saddle, Soprano looked the part in her morning gallop and Boughey feels she merits a place in the Cheveley Park field.
He said: “I’m delighted with her. She worked with a decent four-year-old that is a five-furlong horse rated in the 90s and she showed plenty of pace.
“Charles Eddery, who rides her regularly, was delighted with her so it is all systems go to the Cheveley Park. She looks better than ever.
“She is a very balanced filly, which is so key at Newmarket, and she won on her debut at the track. I think she has got to have a lively chance.”
Feed The Flame will bid to give veteran trainer Pascal Bary a long-awaited victory in Sunday’s Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp.
Bary has handled a host of top-class runners during his lengthy career, sending out Classic winners in France, Britain and Ireland as well as saddling three Breeders’ Cup winners.
However, he has yet to taste success in the crown jewel of French racing, with Sulamani coming closest when finishing a three-quarter-length second to Marienbard in 2002 after Croco Rouge finished third behind Montjeu in 1999.
The Chantilly-based handler has plenty of faith in his challenger this year though, with Feed The Flame having made huge strides since his racecourse bow in April, finishing fourth to the reopposing Ace Impact in the Prix du Jockey Club before going on to land the Grand Prix de Paris over the Arc course and distance in July.
While he had to settle for second place behind Fantastic Moon in his Prix Niel trial earlier this month, Bary believes the Kingman colt might find conditions more to his liking on Sunday.
He said: “He’s a very good horse, he has a very good temperament and he gets the mile and a half really, really well. I think on the day of the Arc, the ground will be slightly different and he will be more comfortable on that ground.
“Anything a bit softer than the ground he encountered in the Jockey Club, Grand Prix de Paris and Prix Niel would be appreciated.”
Feed The Flame was beaten two and a half lengths by Fantastic Moon – who could yet be supplemented for Sunday’s race – and Bary felt the decision to field King Of Records as a pacemaker perhaps played into the winner’s hands.
He explained: “I think I made a mistake by running a pacemaker because he worked much more for the German horse than he did for us. It’s not an easy race to run in because to bring a horse on from July 14 to the beginning of September, there’s not a lot of time.
“Christophe (Soumillon) sort of asked him when he came down into the false straight but at that point on that good ground, the German horse had taken off and Christophe was intelligent enough to just let the horse finish his race because he actually was probably missing a bit of work before he went into the race.
“The aim was not to have a race that was going to be too hard, but at the moment he was so far behind in the final straight, Christophe actually judged it was too late to ask him for a massive effort to bring him closer to the leader.”
Waiting tactics are usually employed on Feed The Flame and Bary does not anticipate any change to the plan in the Arc, even though he is likely to encounter the biggest field of his career to date, with 14 currently in contention after Sprewell dropped out at Tuesday’s second forfeit stage.
Bary said: “He’s a horse that knows how to accelerate and you have to ride him to his strengths. We have to adapt to the horse, he’s not going to adapt to us. In a race with a lot of pace and runners, this should not be an issue.
“If he is to the back of the field, there’s enough time to come forward. When he ran in the Jockey Club, Ace Impact was behind him and came through so he’s obviously the horse to beat. I don’t know much about the opposition but if Ace Impact can come forward, Feed The Flame is capable of accelerating.”
Feed The Flame is owned by Jean-Louis Bouchard and Bary is delighted to have a live contender for a long-standing ally.
He added: “It’s amazing that we have such a good horse towards the end of my career. Jean-Louis is very positive, we go to the race together and it’s a great opportunity.
“If he doesn’t win this year, he will win next year!”
Jean-Claude Rouget is in confident mood ahead of Ace Impact’s bid for glory in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday.
It has been quite the rise through the ranks for the son of Cracksman, who did not see the racecourse as a two-year-old and made his debut in the low-key surroundings of Cagnes-Sur-Mer in late January.
Another understated success at Bordeaux followed and he has since proved his class by landing a Listed race and the French Derby at Chantilly, before adding the Group Two Prix Guillaume d’Ornano to his tally at Deauville in the summer.
Ace Impact is the clear favourite to provide his trainer with a second Arc win following the success of Sottsass three years ago and while taking nothing for granted, Rouget feels there are no negatives.
“Why shouldn’t I be optimistic? I’m coming in with a horse that’s unbeaten,” he said on Tuesday.
“We know in any race anything can happen and we’re coming to the end of the season, but he gets three kilos from the older horses, which is important.
“I’m optimistic in the sense that he goes into the race unbeaten and has done everything we have asked him to so far.”
Following his mid-August triumph at Deauville, Rouget considered running his star colt in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown the following month, while he also had the option of getting a first taste of ParisLongchamp in the Prix Niel.
However, mindful of the fact Ace Impact had been on the go since the beginning of the year, he elected to keep his powder dry for the day that matters most.
Rouget added: “It’s very important that he stays a fresh horse because he started his season very early, which is not the usual start for a Classic horse.
“I didn’t want to run him last year in November, I wanted to wait and he then ran in January, so after he ran in Deauville I preferred to not run him again so that he has some freshness going into the Arc.
“It’s been six weeks (since Deauville) and the six weeks have passed very quickly.”
Ace Impact will be racing over a mile and a half for the first time this weekend, but Rouget does not expect him to be beaten for a lack of stamina, while the fact he has never run on the track is also not a concern for the trainer.
“Obviously we can’t be certain, but with the way he finishes his races and also the fact his sire was a winner over the distance gives us hope that he can stay,” he continued.
“If the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) had been over a mile and a half, as it was in the past, he would have won that.
“Last year Vadeni was in the same place for us and he ran really well (finished second to Alpinista).
“It is very rare I run a horse in the Grand Prix de Paris and after that there was just the Prix Niel, which didn’t hold any interest for me.
“I’m not worried about the course, he’s an easy horse once he’s settled in his race and there are plenty of horses that have won the Arc that also hadn’t run at Longchamp before.
“There was just no opportunity to do so, but it’s not something that bothers me.”
With the weather set fair in Paris for the rest of the week, underfoot conditions look likely to be quicker than is often the case for Europe’s premier middle-distance contest.
Rouget is therefore expecting there to be no excuses on the ground front, adding: “I think it is going to be good for everyone, which is an interesting point about this year’s race.
“In the past the race was often criticised for its heavy ground and the fact horses are tired, but this year I think the ground is going to suit everyone.”
Hopes of seeing a royal runner in this year’s Melbourne Cup are over after connections of Desert Hero confirmed he will not be making the trip to Australia.
The Sea The Stars colt brought the house down when providing the newly-crowned King and Queen with their first taste of Royal Ascot success in the King George V Stakes in June, while a subsequent victory in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood earned him a shot at Classic glory in the St Leger.
The King and Queen made the trip to Doncaster to see the William Haggas-trained three-year-old in action and while he came up short, he was far from disgraced in finishing third behind Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous and Haggas left the door ajar for a possible tilt at ‘the race that stops a nation’ on the first Tuesday in November.
However, while Desert Hero was put through and passed the veterinary checks that would allow him to board the plane, his team have ultimately decided a journey to Australia is not in the youngster’s best interest at this stage of his career.
John Warren, racing adviser to the King and Queen, told the PA news agency: “After giving it plenty of thought we have decided that Desert Hero won’t head to the Melbourne Cup this year.
“It is obviously a world-class race and it was very tempting, but he is still a young horse and we will give him more time to mature.
“He will now have a good break and William will work out a plan for next year.”
The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Team of the Tournament has been announced. The team has been selected by the TV commentary panel; Ian Bishop, Daren Ganga, Samuel Badree, Carlos Brathwaite, Danny Morrison and Nikhil Uttamchandani.
The team includes five members of the Guyana Amazon Warriors who won their first title on Sunday with a nine-wicket win over the Trinbago Knight Riders at Providence.
The five Amazon Warriors are Captain Imran Tahir, batsmen Shai Hope and Saim Ayub and all rounders Dwayne Pretorius and Romario Shepherd.
Tahir was instrumental in leading the Amazon Warriors to their maiden CPL title with 18 wickets in 13 matches, only finishing behind teammate Pretorius’ 20 wickets on the leading wicket-taker chart.
Hope and Ayub finished first and second in the leading run-scorer list with 481 and 478 runs, respectively.
The full team is as follows:
Saim Ayub (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Brandon King (Jamaica Tallawahs)
Shai Hope (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Nicholas Pooran (Trinbago Knight Riders)
Kieron Pollard (Trinbago Knight Riders)
Imad Wasim (Jamaica Tallawahs)
Romario Shepherd (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Jason Holder (Barbados Royals)
Alzarri Joseph (Saint Lucia Kings)
Dwaine Pretorius (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Imran Tahir (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Pete Russell, Republic Bank CPL’s CEO, said: “It has been another fantastic year of CPL cricket, and we would like to thank the players, franchise staff, fans in the ground and viewers around the world for supporting our tournament again this year. We would like to offer our congratulations to the players who have been selected for the Team of the Tournament who have made this another memorable year.”
For their many years of exemplary service to the sport of cricket in Trinidad and Tobago, cricket administrator Azim Bassarath and former player Samuel Badree received the Hummingbird Medal Gold at the twin-island republic’s National Awards Ceremony held on Sunday at President’s House.
The Hummingbird Medal may be awarded to any person (citizen as well as non-citizen) who has rendered loyal and devoted service beneficial to Trinidad and Tobago in any field of human endeavour or for gallantry or other humane action.
It may be awarded in Gold, Silver or Bronze in accordance with the assessed level of the service rendered.
Bassarath, the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and Vice President of Cricket West Indies was recognized for his work as a cricket administrator. When he became CWI Vice President in March this year, Bassarath became the first administrator from the country to serve in that role.
Under his watch, Trinidad and Tobago has produced some of that country’s finest cricketers including Kieron Pollard and Badree, who was honoured for his work in sport and education.
Badree, who is also now a commentator, was a member of West Indies' T20 World Cup winning teams in 2012 and 2016. The 42-year-old former leg spinner has also been an educator for over two decades and is the chairman of Badree’s Academy of Sport Education.
Badree has also served as an administrator and is a former secretary of the south zone cricket council of the TTCB.
A favourable weather forecast has prompted connections of Fantastic Moon to reconsider supplementing the German Derby winner for Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp.
Despite winning a recognised Arc trial over the course and distance in the Prix Niel, the Sea The Moon colt looked set to sidestep Europe’s premier middle-distance contest in favour of either a trip to the Breeders’ Cup or a tilt at the Japan Cup.
However, with little or no rain forecast in Paris in the run-up to Sunday’s showpiece, his team are now giving serious thought to adding him to the field on Wednesday at a cost of €120,000.
Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten of owners Liberty Racing said: “We discussed it yesterday, because the weather forecast is dry and the sun in shining in Paris, perhaps we will get good ground.
“We will decide as late as possible because every day is important for us. How the horse is, how is he looking and working.
“We have a few opportunities too with the Breeders’ Cup and the Japan Cup and now we have the option of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe again.
“We will see – our vet will check him, he will gallop in Munich and then we will see what’s going on and what the weather forecast will be in Paris.
“We decided two weeks ago that we would not run but the situation is new, the ground is better than we expected and the horse is better than we expected 14 days after the Prix Niel.
“It’s new information and a lot of horses are out of the race, so we will see.”
Hercule Du Seuil extended his winning run over fences to four with a stylish success in the Ballymore Group Irish EBF Kilbegnet Novice Chase at Roscommon.
A winner in Grade Two and Three company over hurdles, Willie Mullins’ charge suffered a shock defeat on his chasing bow at Ballinrobe back in May.
However, he has barely put a foot wrong in three subsequent starts, returning to Ballinrobe to claim a first win over fences before following up at Killarney and then in Grade Three company at Galway.
Kept to that level here, Hercule Du Seuil took up his usual position at the head of affairs under Mark Walsh and the 2-5 favourite barely had to hit top gear as he strolled home by 12 lengths from Calico, with The Banger Doyle beaten just a nose in third.
Hercule Du Seuil was encountering heavy ground for the first time and Frank Berry, racing manager for owner JP McManus, was delighted to see him rise to the challenge.
He said: “That was lovely. He jumped well, settled away and handled the ground.
“We didn’t know how he would handle the ground, but Mark said he handled it quite well. It’s loose and he got through it.
“We’ll see what happens when the better ones come out, but he’s going the right way and he’s had a good season so far. We’ll see what Willie wants to do with him.
“It’s a lovely race to find for him here and a flat track suits him well. You couldn’t have asked for better.”
Grand Alliance will not take up his entry in the Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp on Saturday after suffering a season-ending setback.
Winner of the Group Three John Porter Stakes at Newbury in the spring, the four-year-old was subsequently well held in both the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket’s July meeting.
However, stepped up to just shy of two miles for the Group Two Prix Kergorlay at Deauville last month, Grand Alliance bounced back to form to finish second under Ryan Moore, giving trainer Charlie Fellowes more options for the future.
But while the Newmarket handler had the option of sending his stable star back to France on Arc weekend, he has now been forced to draw stumps for the year.
He said: “Unfortunately Grand Alliance had a setback after France and we just decided to call it a day for the year. We’ll give him some time and hopefully he’ll be a nice stayer next year.
“He stayed the two miles well at Deauville, so it opens up a lot of doors. Ryan felt he’d stay as far as you want him to.”
Another horse who held an entry at ParisLongchamp for Fellowes is Marbaan, winner of last year’s Vintage Stakes at Goodwood and third in the Lennox on his return to the Sussex Downs last month.
However, the trainer revealed the son of Oasis Dream will not contest Prix de la Foret, having left his yard to continue his career in Dubai.
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