Olympic Glory and Silasol won the two races for juveniles on the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) undercard on Oct. 7 at Longchamp.
Olympic Glory overcame traffic just over a quarter mile out in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere-Grand Criterium (Fr-I). Once guided to running room by Richard Hughes, he seized the lead near the finish line and won by 1 1/4 lengths from filly What a Name.
It was a third consecutive victory for the Choisir colt and was his first at the top level, boosting an already accomplished record. His efforts include wins in the 32red.com Superlative Stakes (Eng-II) and Veuve Clicquot Vintage Stakes (Eng-II) in his two most recent starts, and a second to Dawn Approach, a subsequent Irish group I, prior to that in the Coventry Stakes (Eng-II) at Royal Ascot.
Olympic Glory covered seven furlongs (1,400 meters) in 1:25.73 on turf rated as heavy. He earned an automatic starting berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT) on Nov. 3, but trainer Richard Hannon said he is unlikely to make the trip to Santa Anita Park.
Irish-bred Olympic Glory is out of the Alzao mare Acidanthera. He has four wins from five starts.
One race earlier on the card, Silasol made all the pace to capture the Total Prix Marcel Boussac (Fr-I) for fillies, holding off stablemate Topaze Blanche, who rallied from off the pace to just miss.
Silasol won by head in a one-two finish for trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias and covered one mile (1,600 meters) in 1:44.62 on turf rated as heavy.
The filly by recently deceased sire Monsun impressively handled the huge class leap after setting the pace to gamely break her maiden at the Boussac distance a month ago at Longchamp.
“Today with the fresh ground next to the rail I thought I’d be better off making the running,” winning rider Olivier Peslier told Racing Post.
“She is progressing and her trainer is in great form; he’s having a great year. When the other filly came to her, she just kept fighting and she’s very tough. The ground was a big help to her.”
A homebred of Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, Silasol has two wins from three starts. She is the first starter out of the Gulch mare Stormina, a multiple stakes winner in the
Silasol's connections won the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) later on the card with filly Solemia in an upset over Japanese star Orfevre.