By Tom Frary
Sunday's G2 Camille Pissarro Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary looked as strong a renewal as there has been in recent years and despite her odds, there was no fluke in the success of Lapotheose (Wootton Bassett).
Kept to the provinces before this acid test, Riviera Equine and Maurice Lagasse's homebred had come from a narrow win in the Listed Prix Caravelle at Toulouse last month, where she had extended her unbeaten tally but was in considerably deeper here.
Held up in rear early by Alexis Pouchin as Baccari Racing Stable's Concorde Agreement (Persian King) set out her stall in front in customary fashion, the Yann Barberot-trained 11-1 shot was the last to challenge that G3 Prix Vanteaux winner and had the only kick that counted to take over 100 metres from the finish. A length separated that pair at the line, with TDN Rising Star Evita (Persian King) another 2 1/2 lengths away in third and Juddmonte's G3 Prix Cleopatre winner and 3-5 favourite Gilded Prize (Frankel) only fifth of the six runners.
“We are extremely excited and obviously she is progressing,” the owners' representative Marc de Chambure said of the winner, who was only member of this line-up not entered in the Prix de Diane. “She only won a Listed by a head last time and now she's a Group 2 winner which is fantastic. I am a great fan of Jean-Claude Rouget and that was typical of his style, to do the job in the provinces and then come to Paris for the big one and Lapotheose has done that.”
Barberot added, “We came here via the side roads to avoid battles and run without pressure and she has improved with each run. The Diane isn't certain, because she's a filly who has not finished developing physically. She goes on all ground and still has to put on more weight, so she could be a filly for the autumn.”
Concorde Agreement remains on course for the Diane despite meeting with defeat for the first time. “She has stamina and the right mentality, so in a big race we can be a little more patient,” trainer Pierre Groualle said. “For the moment, we are sticking with the objective of the Prix de Diane.”
Four from four! 🤩
Lapotheose storms home to strike in the Group 2 @coolmorestud Prix Saint-Alary! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/YFfV3Gf0St
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 10, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Lapotheose is just the latest advert for her remarkable sire, whose loss will be felt for some time to come. The dam Loyale (Turtle Bowl), who had already produced one of his notable progeny and one of the first to fly his flag in the G2 Champions Juvenile Stakes winner Atomic Jones, is a daughter of the important mare Luminosity (Sillery) who hailed from the Wildenstein family of Bigstone et al.
Luminosity was responsible for the GIII Dixiana Bourbon Stakes winner Keep Quiet (Elusive City) and GII San Clemente Handicap winner Little Treasure (Night Shift), who in turn produced the GII La Canada Stakes scorer and multiple Grade I-placed More Chocolate (Malibu Moon). Another of her daughters, the dual Group-placed Harem Lady (Teofilo), is the second dam of this year's Listed Prix Maurice Caillault winner Hello Jo (Hello Youmzain) and the G2 Prix d'Harcourt winner and Prince of Wales's Stakes runner-up Zarakem (Zarak) and G1 Prix de Royallieu-placed Rabbit's Foot (Golden Horde). Luminosity is also the ancestress of the Group and Graded-Stakes scorers New York Girl (New Approach), Rhythm Of Light (Beat Hollow), Elusive Beauty (Elusive Pimpernel) and Go Athletico (Goken).
Loyale's two-year-old filly is by Persian King, while her yearling full-sister to Lapotheose was a €340,000 purchase by MV Magnier at the Goffs November Foal Sale.
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