Fuisse came charging down the center of the course and prevailed in a blanket finish to the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (Fr-I) Sept. 5.
Not only did Fuisse provide an exciting finish to the race, the colt also supplied plenty of drama beforehand when he unseated jockey Stephane Pasquier and proceeded to take an extensive tour of the Longchamp race course. Fuisse was eventually caught and was led back to the starting gate, which was over a mile away. The other five runners remained calm as they waited for the rambunctious Fuisse to rejoin them.
Siyouni broke alertly from post 2 and was sent to the front by Christophe Lemaire. They set a moderate pace and were tracked closely by Rio de La Plata. Favorite Paco Boy, partnered as usual by Richard Hughes, ran in third, with Via Medici in fourth on his immediate outside. Prix du Jockey Club (Fr-I) winner Lope De Vega ran in fifth, while Pasquier allowed Fuisse to trail the field in last.
As the field entered the home straight, Lemaire went to work aboard Siyouni and the pair sprinted for home. They couldn’t shake free of Rio de La Plata, who drew alongside Siyouni to battle to the wire.
Paco Boy, who had been racing behind the front duo, suddenly found himself in tight quarters as Via Medici had him pinned on the rail. Richard Hughes was finally able to extricate Paco Boy from the pocket and get him into the clear, but there was no response from his mount when he asked him for run.
Siyouni and Rio de La Plata continued to slug it out, with Rio de La Plata finally gaining a slight advantage with 100 yards to go. Flying down the center of the course, however, was the pre-race troublemaker Fuisse, who was able to nail Rio de La Plata on the wire for a head victory.
Siyouni was another head back in third, while Paco Boy had to settle for fourth, 1 1/4 lengths behind the front trio. Final time for the eight furlongs was 1:37.83 over the good turf course.
Criquette Head-Maarek, who trains the homebred Fuisse for her parents, said after the race, “He was very fresh and playful. He can be like that in the morning but never in the afternoon.
“He may well come over to Newmarket for the Champion Stakes (Eng-I). I think he can stay.”
Fuisse is a 4-year-old colt by Green Tune out of Funny Feerie, by Sillery. He is a half-brother to Full of Gold, winner of the Criterium de Saint-Cloud (Fr-I) in 2007. Fuisse was bred in France by Mr. and Mrs. Alec Head, and races for the Head family’s Haras du Quesnay.