Critérium International: Puerto Rico follows up after the Lagardère

Already the winner of the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (Gr1) four weeks ago, the Irish two- year-old Puerto Rico (Wootton Bassett) returned to France to contest the Critérium International—a race he dominated from start to finish. He finished ahead of the only French runner in the field, Campacite (Zarak), who delivered a remarkable performance at this level, and Cape Orator (Mohaather), winner of the Arqana Series – Haras de Bouquetot – Critérium d’Automne. Puerto Rico was ridden by Christophe Soumillon and is trained by Aidan O’Brien for the Coolmore operation. In 2021, the colt Angel Bleu had accomplished the same impressive feat. Aidan O’Brien commented: “He’s an exceptional horse: he’s got a lot of speed but he also stays the trip, so we wanted to see how comfortable he would be over a mile today. He’s a top-class colt. I’d say he’s probably a horse for the Guineas first, and then the Derby.”