By Tom Frary
Aidan O'Brien left Chantilly on Sunday having created a legacy performance of training as he did here in the Arc several years ago after Constitution River led home Hawk Mountain and Montreal for a Team Ballydoyle G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club one-two-three.
MV Magnier was on hand to pay tribute to the combined expertise of the master of Ballydoyle and Ryan Moore. “In fairness to Aidan, he was pretty confident coming here even though he was worried about the draw for Constitution River,” he said. “Ryan gave him a great ride–he's probably the best jockey in the world, so we're very lucky to have a good relationship with him. For Aidan to get the one-two-three is incredible and he thinks Constitution River could be something different. He's done it today against the odds and now he has to keep doing it.”
While the two sons of France's great export and much-missed colossus Wootton Bassett were dissed by the draw gods in this renewal, there was Sea The Stars's Montreal and Wayne Lordan from stall eight to grasp the Classic by the horns and frame it like a piece of strong homework.
Moore was at work on the 12-5 favourite surprisingly early in the straight due to the sustained effort of Montreal and, while Christophe Soumillon was bang there on Hawk Mountain, there was soon that familiar sense of inevitability once the first-string edged ahead approaching the furlong pole. At the line, there was 3/4 of a length between Constitution River and Hawk Mountain, with Montreal a head away in third. To add to the O'Brien festivities, Donnacha's A Boy Named Susie (Starspangledbanner) was fourth, 1 3/4 lengths away.
Since this was re-shaped as a 10 1/2-furlong test in 2005, only Ace Impact and Sottsass have managed faster winning times but both were drawn in single figures. France Galop's tracking report shows that several of Constitution River's rivals covered the final three furlongs quicker, but this was a race of two parts with the Ballydoyle colts effectively time-trialling their way to the line and the following pack playing the more typical French game of wait-and-pounce.
Unfortunately for the non-Aidan O'Brien-trained contingent, the three up ahead consisted of one widely believed to be potentially the best ever to emerge from the stable, a Futurity Trophy winner and a colt the trainer had pinpointed at his March Press Day as a dark horse to follow in 2026. Ultimately, it was Ryan Moore who had the edge on board the latest in an elite crew to overcome a horror draw here which includes the luminaries Shamardal, Lope De Vega and New Bay.
“It didn't look good with the draw beforehand, but what I did know was I had a very good horse,” the winning rider said. “He was inexperienced and got a bit of a shock going right-handed, but I knew I had the horse to overcome. He makes life easy for you–he does everything effortlessly. He has plenty of speed, he stays well and he has an excellent temperament. When a horse is that straightforward, the draw becomes less important than it otherwise might have been.”
“He was a little keener than usual today,” he added. “He's still learning and it was probably the first time in his life that he really took hold of the bit and the first day he really had to open up. The pace was genuine and I think every horse had its chance–we knew we had three Group 1 horses, so it was a strong race. He was still a little bit green and will improve from today and get better. He has a chance of staying further for sure, but I think he could come back to a mile and so I'd say he's quite a special horse, a rare horse.”
O'Brien was registering back-to-back renewals after the win of the sire's Camille Pissarro and added, “It was a solidly-run race which gave everybody a chance–Ryan said he was green and he had to learn a lot on quick ground. He came off the bridle sooner than he expected, but he didn't surrender–he kept coming so you'd have to be very impressed. He's a big, powerful horse who will definitely improve–he has loads of scope and is very exciting. The second and third are two very good horses also and we knew Donnacha really fancied his horse who was fourth.”
“Ryan had a terrible draw and we thought it would be very difficult, because he's still a baby, still learning and we weren't sure what was going to happen,” he added. “We're simply very grateful, privileged and delighted for everyone involved. We'll probably take our time with Constitution River. Today was a tough race, so he could have a little summer break and come back in the autumn for an Arc trial or something similar. If he comes out of the race particularly well, the Eclipse Stakes is not impossible.”
Soumillon said of Hawk Mountain, “We knew what we had to do and that was to be in the first three, but I think my horse could be a bit better if he was not over-racing in the first part of the race. The ground was probably also a bit quick for him and he is a nice mile-and-a-quarter horse if the rain comes to help him. He was much more focused with the blinkers, but he was still looking around in the last 200 metres so he will always need a bit of company.”
CONSTITUTION RIVER WINS THE QATAR PRIX DU JOCKEY CLUB! 🏆🇫🇷
It's a 1-2-3 for team Ballydoyle at Chantilly…🤩 pic.twitter.com/CoeDyb4YxN
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 31, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Constitution River, who becomes the third Prix du Jockey Club winner for his deceased sire 10 years on from Almanzor's success, was bred by Gerard Laboureau of LG Bloodstock at Pierre Talvard's Haras du Cadran in the Orne department of Normandy. He is the first foal out of Chuppy, a daughter of the 2009 Prix du Jockey Club hero Le Havre who is a full-sister to the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, Prix de Royallieu and Hardwicke heroine Wonderful Tonight.
The second dam Salvation (Montjeu) is a daughter of the Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Birdie (Alhaarth), whose three Stakes performers are headed by the GIII Providencia Stakes winner Hostess by Wootton Bassett's sire Iffraaj. Birdie's Listed-winning half-sister Fickle (Danehill) produced the G3 Dahlia Stakes scorer Tarfah (Kingmambo) who produced the operation's 2,000 Guineas and Derby hero and leading sire Camelot by Salvation's sire Montjeu. Chuppy's second foal is the two-year-old filly Sensational Filly (Mehmas), who was a €300,000 purchase by Paddy Twomey for Bond Thoroughbred Limited at last year's Arqana Deauville August.
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