€350,000 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (Gr1): Highfield Princess is all guts

Sunday, October 1, 2023, Hippodrome ParisLongchamp (Paris) – The favourite for the €350,000 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (Gr1), the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend's sprinters'championship, 6-year-old mare Highfield Princess (Night of Thunder), trained in Yorkshire by John Quinn but born in France, was ridden conservatively for a good portion of this straight 5 furlongs. She managed to catch the young front-runner, 3-year-old filly Perdika (Unfortunately), who led from the start from her rail position and ultimately held on well for second place. Long stuck in a compact field, 3-year-old Rogue Lightning (Kodiac) seized a well-deserved third place, ahead of Aesop's Fables (No Nay Never).

Bred in France by Trainers House Enterprises, Highfield Princess was bought back for £29,000 by Haras du Camp Bénard, who had presented her at Tattersalls. Her dam, Pure Illusion (Danehill), was a winner in England and has already produced the capable Cardsharp (Lonhro), who won the July Stakes (Gr2) as a 2-year-old at Goodwood and was later third in the Middle Park Stakes (Gr1). Highfield Princess has gradually climbed the ranks from handicaps to group races, winning a Group 2 at York and then at Deauville over 6 and a half furlongs in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (Gr1) in 2021, before confirming her form in the Nunthorpe Stakes (Gr1) and the Flying Five Stakes (Gr1) at the Curragh. This year, she had finished in the top three in six of her seven outings at the top level.