A tilt at Qipco British Champions Day could be on the cards for Mill Stream having continued his Deauville love affair in the Prix de Meautry.
Having won the Prix Moonlight Cloud over track and trip earlier this month, Jane Chapple-Hyam’s colt thrived on his quick return to the Normandy coast, continuing his rise up the sprinting ranks by delivering a decisive blow over Garrus in the hands of Marco Ghiani.
Charlie Hills’ runner was a length and three-quarters behind Mill Stream in second and Chapple-Hyam is delighted by how the son of Gleneagles, who showed plenty of ability as a juvenile, has progressed throughout his three-year-old campaign.
She said: “He was very good and very competitive and has come out of the race in great order.
“He’s got the hang of it now. It takes three-year-olds a bit of time to get the hang of it and the Listed race the first time in Deauville was three-year-olds only.
“On Sunday he stepped up and met the older boys, who are more conditioned and professional at sprinting and it just showed how quickly he learnt from the Listed race when being in with the older horses. You can only take positives from the race going forward.
“He’s lightly raced and we used the first one (this season) at Haydock where he was kicked off the park. But we needed that as he had been off a long time and he was heavy and stuffy, so we had to start somewhere.
“He’s easy to manage and he’s that type of sprinter, in the sense he doesn’t boil over or anything and is good to manage.”
Owned by leisure tycoon Peter Harris, Mill Stream holds an entry for the British Champions Sprint Stakes on October 21 and could now be handed the opportunity to test his talent at Group One level.
“We don’t really have a plan as such, he’s in the Ascot Sprint but I don’t really have a plan beyond that,” added Chapple-Hyam.
“It’s the last sprint Group One in Europe. He’s not in the Abbaye and that would probably be a bit speedy for him over five at this stage.
“Now he’s got the hang of it, you would look forward to seeing him run against the English older horses.
“Garrus is a good line and Batwan (third) did a lot of racing in Dubai and then back in France so he’s not a poor horse either, he’s well campaigned.”
