The English Fallen Angel lands her third group 1 in three years in the Prix Rothschild – Fonds Européen de l’Élevage

The English filly Fallen Angel (Too Darn Hot) captured Sunday’s opening Group 1 of the Deauville Barrière meeting, the Prix Rothschild – Fonds Européen de l’Élevage, running in the colours of Wathnan Racing, the racing operation of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar.

To secure victory, the 4-year-old filly didn’t bother with tactics: as soon as the stalls opened, she took the lead, galloping in the centre of the track. A second group had formed along the stands’ rail, in which the Irish filly January (Kingman) was biding her time. But when her jockey Christophe Soumillon felt that this pack was not going fast enough, he angled January to the left to move closer to Fallen Angel…

With 500 metres to go, Fallen Angel launched her serious challenge under jockey Daniel Tudhope, kicking off a long duel with January. Ultimately, Fallen Angel prevailed in the very last stride. January finished second, and the French filly Start of Day (Night of Thunder) came third for trainer Christopher Head in Chantilly (Oise).

Fallen Angel is now a confirmed champion, a Group 1 winner—the highest level in horse racing—at 2 years old (Moyglare Stud Stakes 2023), at 3 years old (Irish 1,000 Guineas 2024), and now at 4 years old (Prix Rothschild 2025).

Official Result

PRIX ROTHSCHILD – FONDS EUROPEEN DE L’ÉLEVAGE

1st FALLEN ANGEL (D. Tudhope)

2nd  JANUARY (C. Soumillon)

3rd START OF DAY (A. Lemaitre)

Time : 1’35’’10. Margins :  Tête – 1 1/2 – 3/4.

Quotes 

Karl Burke – Trainer of Fallen Angel (1st) – England

« I’m absolutely delighted to have a Group 1 winner for Wathnan, they’ve been huge supporters and long may it continue. I’m delighted for Danny as well. I was a little surprised James [Doyle] went the way he did. I know Crimson Advocate beat us at Ascot but we needed that bit better ground and the cheekpieces made a bit of difference.

Also her work has taken a step forward since Ascot and especially over the last two weeks. I wouldn’t say we were confident but we were bullish going there. She doesn’t want any firmness in it like she had at Ascot where, coming round the bend, her head just came up a bit.

She’s such an honest game mare and she was battling back in the last 100 yards then, as she did today. She only does what you ask her to do and Aidan’s filly coming to her helped her. 

What I’m really pleased about is that she’s emulated Laurens in winning a Group 1 at two, three and four now. The Matron I would imagine is the next port of call and hopefully we’ll have some nice ground at that time of year. 

There is the mile and a quarter Prix Jean Romanet but we’ll enjoy today, get her home and see how she is, and then I’ll speak to the connections. But the way she’s won that I’d be happy to stick at a mile. »

Ali Al Kubaisi – Racing Manager for Wathnan Racing, owners of Fallen Angel (1st)

« First, I want to congratulate the whole Wathnan Racing team for this victory. This is an important Group 1 for both us and the filly. She really deserved to win at this level at 4, because of her outstanding consistency. We had targeted this race for quite some time, and it’s very satisfying to achieve that goal. I also want to congratulate Karl Burke and his entire team. We’ll now discuss the next steps for her programme together. »

Aidan O’Brien – Trainer of January (2nd) – Ireland

« She ran a really good race. I’m not sure yet what we’ll do next with her. We’ll get her home and see. Anyway, she ran very well, and the ground was no issue for her. »

Christopher Head – Trainer of Start of Day (3rd) – Chantilly (Oise)

« This may have been the Rothschild of the decade, and we’re thrilled to have been part of it. Aurélien Lemaitre rode a very smart race throughout, and Start of Day finished strongly with a pleasing action. She’ll be even better over further! We’re aiming her at the Sumbe Prix Jean Romanet (Group 1) on August 24. Since she joined the yard, we’ve kept her to a mile, which was a joint decision with her connections. Start of Day has the sectionals of a true miler, and she proved it today. There’s still more to come… while already placing third in a Group 1! She’s very professional, both in the mornings and in the afternoons. I’d like to thank Mr Saito and Sébastien Desmontils for entrusting me with such wonderful horses. »

Carlos Lerner – Trainer of Godspeed (4th) – Maisons-Laffitte (Yvelines)

« She ran very well. She followed the leaders’ acceleration and gave us hope for third place. At first glance, she looks more like a 1,400m filly than a 1,600m straight-line one. If all goes well, we’ll target the Qatar Prix de la Forêt (Group 1, October 5). She deserves to win a Group 1. »