Unbeaten Manobo leads home 1-2 in G2 Prix Chaudenay

Manobo stretched his perfect record to four wins from four starts as he comfortably beat Kemari in the G2 Prix Chaudenay at Longchamp, France, on Saturday, 2 October.

Both Charlie Appleby-trained three-year-olds brought contrasting profiles into the 15-furlong contest. Manobo was stepping up in class and trip following a Saint-Cloud Listed success, while G2 Queen’s Vase winner Kemari was looking to atone for a disappointing run in York’s G2 Great Voltigeur Stakes.

Manobo ran freely away from the rest of the field with Alter Adler and Tashkhan initially before tacking over to race in fifth of the nine runners, with Kemari settling in fourth on the inside rail.

Love Child moved ahead of Manobo down the back but the Godolphin homebred moved up powerfully around runners for James Doyle in the straight, reeling in long-time leader Interpretation a furlong and a half from home.

Manobo opened up daylight over his rivals entering the final furlong and had plenty in reserve to fend off the late rally of Kemari, who also saw out the trip well under Frankie Dettori to go down by three-quarters of a length.

Charlie Appleby said: “We felt that we could hopefully have a cup horse in time with Manobo and I think he is starting to make inroads towards that career. I was pleased with the way the race was run – Manobo was a little fresh and awkward for the first couple of furlongs but everyone was trying to find their position.

“James felt that, once they turned into the back, he was happy with where he was and Manobo got into a nice rhythm. He was surprised with the horse’s acceleration. Normally I give the jockey the instruction to make sure you get into Manobo a bit early because he is a big unit who needs to get rolling. James gave him a squeeze and he was falling over to hit the front, so all he had to do was keep him there.

“We mooted whether to look towards Champions Day at Ascot for Manobo and it’s a discussion to have over the next week or so. More importantly, he is a horse for next year and it might be a big ask to run back over soft ground again on Champions Day.

“We were delighted to get Kemari back on track. He won the Queen’s Vase and we thought that he was going to be an exciting staying type. We put a line through his run at York and fair play to the team at home who have done a great job. He ran a great race and I am delighted to have a 1-2.”

James Doyle said: “I thought that I had a really good chance on Manobo, who was still unexposed following his win at Saint-Cloud. This longer distance was a bit of an unknown but he stayed it well.

“If I rode the race again, I would probably wait a little longer because he surprised me with how well he quickened. He is certainly a stayer in the making.”