By Tom Frary
Lightly-campaigned for a five-year-old, Haras de la Perelle's homebred Quisisana put yet another feather in the cap of the Stud and her high-achieving late sire Le Havre when taking Sunday's G1 Sumbe Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville. Coming into the 10-furlong contest off a clear-cut win in Chantilly's Listed Prix de la Pepiniere, the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained 7-1 shot travelled smoothly for Christophe Soumillon and when given the command seized the advantage approaching the furlong marker.
At the line, she had 1 3/4 lengths to spare over Survie (Churchill {Ire}), who was a nose in front of Grand Stars (Sea The Stars) for a French one-two-three. Godolphin's 11-10 favourite Cinderella's Dream (Shamardal) ran flat in fourth, just ahead of Ballydoyle's unlucky Bedtime Story (Frankel).
The winner, who was denied the chance to run in this 12 months ago having been injured after her wide-margin Listed Prix Pawneese success, could have lofty targets in the autumn but her trainer will first have to navigate her notorious fragility. “I have always adored this mare and was sure to win this race with her last year, but unfortunately she had another problem,” Graffard explained. “I have spent a lot of time on the phone giving bad news to her owner Mr Winter, but he has always supported me and kept faith in my judgement when I asked him to keep her in training. This a great reward and I'm delighted for him and the Stud.”
“She has a lot of class, will appreciate soft ground and will stay a mile and a half, but the worry with her is keeping her sound,” he added. “I just learned that this race is part of the Arc Series program-she is not entered, but with this win she is eligible to run if we accept the free entry within two weeks so we will discuss that. She is also in the Opera. My good geldings can't run in the Arc, so she could be the one to represent the stable.”
Nicolas Clement said of Survie, “She ran like a champion! She has a huge heart and gives everything. Unfortunately, her draw worked against us and we were a little too far back early on. We'll discuss it with her connections, as several options are on the table. We have the Royallieu, the Arc or the Opera, as the Vermeille is in only two weeks. I'm disappointed the program is structured like this, with the Pomone and the Romanet so close to the Vermeille.”
Gerald Mosse was similarly delighted with Grand Stars. “She's a mare I really love–after all, she gave me my first win and she continues to confirm that she has real talent,” he said. “She's the best horse in my stable and ideally I think the next target should be the Opera. For the end of her career, I have a particular race in mind, the E. P. Taylor Stakes in Canada. It's a race I've won twice as a jockey, I know the profile well and I think it would suit her perfectly.”
Quisisana wins the Group One Prix Jean Romanet in ready fashion at Deauville! 🏆🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/mZ8hAL2q3b
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) August 24, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Quisisana's unraced dam Quamoclit (Sea The Stars), who has also produced the Listed-placed Qitura (Muhtathir), is out of Quezon Sun (Monsun) who was also Listed-placed. She was responsible for Muhtathir's Cadran hero Mille Et Mille and the Listed scorer Quanzhou (Dubawi), who in turn produced the dam of the multiple Listed scorer Hooking (Lope De Vega). A granddaughter of the Deutschland-Preis and Preis der Diana-placed Quezon City (Law Society), Quamoclit's yearling filly is by No Nay Never.
Sunday, Deauville, France
SUMBE PRIX JEAN ROMANET-G1, €400,000, Deauville, 8-24, 3yo/up, f/m, 10fT, 2:05.73, gd.
1–QUISISANA (FR), 130, m, 5, by Le Havre (Ire)
1st Dam: Quamoclit (GB), by Sea The Stars (Ire)
2nd Dam: Quezon Sun (Ger), by Monsun (Ger)
3rd Dam: Quezon City (Ger), by Law Society
1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Haras de la Perelle; T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Christophe Soumillon. €228,560. Lifetime Record: 8-6-0-1, €332,210. *1/2 to Qitura (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}), SP-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Survie (Ire), 130, f, 4, Churchill (Ire)–Sotteville (Fr), by Le Havre (Ire). O-China Horse Club International & Gerard Augustin-Normand; B-Franklin Finance SA; T-Nicolas Clement & Flo Hermans. €91,440.
3–Grand Stars (Ire), 130, f, 4, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Queen Guenevere (Ire), by Camelot (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€260,000 Ylg '22 ARQAUG; €800,000 3yo '24 ARQDEC). O-Newsells Park Stud; B-Ballylinch Stud & Ecurie des Charmes; T-Gerald Mosse. €45,720.
Margins: 1 3/4, NO, HF. Odds: 7.10, 11.00, 30.00.
Also Ran: Cinderella's Dream (GB), Bedtime Story (Ire), Start Of Day (GB), Cankoura (Fr), Royal Dress (Ire).
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