Behkabad provided his connections with a memorable Bastille Day when he repelled the late charge of Planteur to capture the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris (Fr-I) at Longchamp July 14.
Breaking sharply from post 1, Behkabad was settled into third by jockey Gerald Mosse, as Vivre Libre went straight to the front to set the pace for his heavily-favored stablemate, Planteur. Allesson followed closely in second, while the Irish raider, Jan Vermeer, was held up toward the rear by Johnny Murtagh.
Vivre Libre continued to show the way through the early stages, setting a decent pace for the eight other runners. As the field entered the home straight, Vivre Libre began to fade, opening the door for Behkabad to make his move.
The son of Cape Cross assumed command with two furlongs to go, and was able to withstand the late bid of Planteur, who had made up several lengths within the final furlong. Planteur just missed with his bid, falling short by three-quarters of a length at the wire.
Jan Vermeer had to settle for third, another five lengths further back. The final time for the 12 furlongs was 2:33.30 over a rain-soaked course labeled as good.
Behkabad, who is conditioned by Jean-Claude Rouget for his owner the Aga Khan, has now improved his record to five wins from seven starts. Behkabad was bred in France by his owner, and is out of the stakes-winning Kris mare Behkara.
