Roman Candle sparkles brightly in G2 Prix Greffulhe

Progressive Roman Candle continued his upward curve with a battling victory in the G2 Prix Greffulhe over an extended 10 furlongs at Saint-Cloud, France, on Wednesday, 1 May.

The three-year-old colt, stepping up in class and trip for trainer Andre Fabre following his staying-on third in the nine-furlong G3 Prix La Force at Longchamp on Sunday, 7 April, was slightly slow leaving the stalls, but went forward on the outside to track front-running Pappalino in second after the first quarter-mile. Roman Candle came through to challenge and then edged past Pappalino inside the final furlong and the duo fought out a sustained duel, with the Godolphin colt going away near the line under Mickael Barzalona to prevail by a neck in 2m 12.55s on good to soft ground. The first two home finished three lengths clear of Starmaniac in third.

Lisa-Jane Graffard of Godolphin said: “Roman Candle is a colt with plenty of heart, who tries his hardest, and it was a very nice performance.

“He has done well since his comeback run in the Prix La Force and Andre Fabre felt that he still wasn’t quite 100 per cent today, so hopefully there is more progress to come. “A step-up in trip could possibly help bring further improvement, but all options are open to Roman Candle, including the G1 Prix du Jockey Club (1m 2f 110y, Chantilly, Sunday, 2 June).

“Nothing has been ruled out and Andre Fabre will see how Roman Candle comes out of this race before making any decisions.”