Starman camp blame ground for Maurice de Gheest defeat

Starman camp blame ground for Maurice de Gheest defeat

By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Marianafoot leads Starman in the closing stages, with the latter losing second place close home (Focusonracing)
Marianafoot extended his winning streak when taking the Group One Larc Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville.
The Jerome Reynier-trained six-year-old cut through a top-class field of 12 to take the six-and-a-half-furlong contest at 11-1 under Mickael Barzalona.
Tropbeau, a 150-1 chance, was second, with Ed Walker’s July Cup hero Starman (11-8 favourite) finishing third on the very soft going.
Successful in 2017 and runner-up in 2019, the Kevin Ryan-trained veteran Brando again showed his liking for the race with a gallant fourth.
Reynier said: "I'm so happy, we've been aiming for this race for a few months. We were planning many different things beforehand, we tried him over a straight course back in April at Chantilly, but that was just a Listed race and it was a pretty weak race compared to this Group One level.
"In between he has won two Group Threes and this is above expectations, we are delighted with the horse as he just seems better than ever - a bit like Skalleti.
"We were very sad not to be able to race him last year because of his injury in Qatar, but now he's come back as a six-year-old better than ever. We're just so happy and we don't know where he's going to stop, it's an amazing story."
Marianafoot's run now stretches to eight consecutive victories, and more big days could be ahead.
Reynier said: "He's entered in the Prix Jacques le Marois in seven days' time, but we are going to see how he copes with this race.
"We are aiming for the Prix de la Foret on Arc weekend and then maybe the Breeders' Cup at the end of the year."
Starman's owner David Ward pointed to underfoot conditions being against Starman, whose Newmarket victory had come on good to firm ground.
He said: "Starman was beaten by the ground. We will have to travel outside Europe at some point to find ground that suits him.
"He still ran well, despite the conditions not being to his liking. The jockey confirmed our impression. On good ground, he's a different horse."
Wesley Ward's Campanelle lost all chance at the start, having fly-leaped as the stalls opened and almost knocking Frankie Dettori out of the saddle.
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