Eleven fillies will head postward for Sunday's G1 Prix de Diane Longines at Chantilly after declarations were confirmed Thursday morning. Ryan Moore is set to partner G1 Prix Marcel Boussac and G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine, and likely favourite, Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica), who has drawn stall three. Her Aidan O'Brien stablemate Moments Of Joy (Justify) will exit stall eight under Wayne Lordan.
“Everything has gone well with Diamond Necklace since she won the French Guineas and I've been very happy with her,” O'Brien commented, “The plan was always to come back here [to France] and we always thought a mile-and-a-quarter shouldn't be a problem to her.”
The Christopher Head-trained Marcel Boussac runner-up and Pouliches third Green Spirit (Kingman) is booked in for a third bout with Diamond Necklace and has drawn stall one.
Britain's team of five outnumbers the home defence by one and is headed by the Karl Burke-conditioned G1 1000 Guineas runner-up Evolutionist (Night Of Thunder), who is drawn in stall five, and G3 Musidora runner-up Felicitas (Teofilo), who is drawn in seven.
“Evolutionist has done very well, physically, since the [1000] Guineas and she is getting stronger all the time,” her trainer said. “I think she will get stronger as the year goes on, but she is certainly a stronger filly now than she was in May at Newmarket. I am sure she will stay the trip and show a turn of foot at the end of it, but we will not ride her as aggressively as we did in the Guineas. Diamond Necklace looks hard to beat, but you should never fear only one rival.”
Sunday, Chantilly, France, post time: 16:05
PRIX DE DIANE LONGINES-G1, €1,000,000, 3yo, f, 10 11/2fT
SC PP HORSE SIRE TRAINER JOCKEY WT
1 5 Evolutionist (Ire) Night Of Thunder (Ire) Burke Foley 126
2 8 Moments Of Joy Justify A O'Brien Lordan 126
3 2 Habibi (Fr) Le Brivido (Fr) Rouget Demuro 126
4 9 Evita (Fr) Persian King (Ire) C & Y Lerner Soumillon 126
5 6 Pink Panthera (Fr) Chachnak (Fr) Cottier Piccone 126
6 11 Esna (Ire) Starman (GB) Meehan J Doyle 126
7 4 Inis Mor (Fr) Galiway (GB) Menuisier O Murphy 126
8 3 Diamond Necklace (Ire) St Mark's Basilica (Fr) A O'Brien R Moore 126
9 7 Felicitas (GB) Teofilo (Ire) Walker Shoemark 126
10 1 Green Spirit Kingman (GB) C Head Guyon 126
11 10 Lilt (GB) Lope De Vega (Ire) Haggas Marquand 126
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