Inspiral bounced back to her very best to defend her title in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained filly enjoyed one of her finest hours when triumphing in the mile Group One 12 months ago, but arrived on the Normandy coast with a point to prove having failed to get involved in the Sussex Stakes 11 days ago.
Ridden with restraint in the early stages by Frankie Dettori as favourite Big Rock set ablaze on the front end, the Italian conjured up a piece of magic aboard the Cheveley Park-owned four-year-old and when the time came to unleash his challenge, he had tacked across to the opposite side of the track to where the duo exited the stalls.
With a furlong to run it was Christopher Head’s French Derby second Big Rock who was still at the head of affairs, but Inspiral and her Royal Ascot conqueror Triple Time were looming large and although Kevin Ryan’s Queen Anne scorer couldn’t maintain his challenge, Inspiral was soon in full flow as she stormed through the line to register her first victory of the season.
The win gave both Dettori and the Clarehaven team a fourth straight success in Deauville’s showpiece, while it was the 52-year-old Italian’s eighth and final win in the race overall as he prepares to wave goodbye at the end of the season.
