Antoine Gilibert

Carlos and Yann Lerner trainee The Last Dance (Iffraaj) attained TDN Rising Star status with a stunning display at Chantilly last month and the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and G1 Prix de Diane entry doubled up in style in Thursday's Prix du Louvre, a one-mile condtions heat, at ParisLongchamp. Held together in fifth before slipping one spot at halfway, the even-money favourite made smooth headway in the straight to seize control with 300 metres remaining and was pushed out in the closing stages to easily hold the late bid...

Haras d'Etreham resident Victor Ludorum (GB) (Shamardal) became Europe's latest first-crop sire to get off the mark when his Adam West-trained daughter Viva La Skids (Fr) pounced late in the Thursday's six-furlong Prix Royal Hampton at Saint-Cloud to defeat 11 rivals on debut. Occupying a position off the tempo towards the rear for the most part, the 77-2 outsider made relentless headway under pressure out wide inside the final quarter-mile and inched ahead in the dying strides to defeat Kalkara (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) by a neck. Viva La Skids, kin...