PRIX DE L’ABBAYE DE LONGCHAMP LONGINES - Miss Yechance, the winning supplementary entry

QATAR PRIX DE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE WEEKEND

PRIX DE L’ABBAYE DE LONGCHAMP LONGINES

Miss Yechance, the winning supplementary entry

Sent off at 8/1, the 3-year-old filly Miss Yechance produced the finest performance of her career by winning the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (Group 1) over 1,000 metres at ParisLongchamp. Her connections had supplemented her for the race: she had not originally been entered and her owners paid €25,200 to allow her to line up in the contest. She justified their confidence by scoring bravely in an excellent time of 55.08 seconds.

Quickly to the fore, she repelled every challenge in the closing stages to win ahead of another 3-year-old filly, Shiri, trained in France by Francis-Henri Graffard, and the Irish-trained Mission Central.

Miss Yechance provided 20-year-old jockey Jack Nicholls with his first Group 1 victory… while he is still an apprentice! But he comes from a family steeped in sprinting success: he is the grandson of David “Dandy” Nicholls and the son of Adrian Nicholls, who, interestingly, both earned reputations as the “kings” of sprint racing. His grandfather David won the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp as a trainer with Continent in 2002. His father Adrian also had his first ride in a Group 1 in this very race.

Miss Yechance is trained by Karl Burke, who is based at Coverham in Yorkshire, northern England. This is his first victory in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp, although he is no stranger to major success in France.

Miss Yechance carries the colours of Libyan owners Al Leith Racing Club.

The official result

PRIX DE L’ABBAYE DE LONGCHAMP LONGINES

1st MISS YECHANCE (J. Nicholls)

2nd SHIRI (M. Barzalona)

3rd MISSION CENTRAL (R.-L. Moore)

Time: 0’55’’08. Margins: NK – NK – NK

Quotes from connections

Dr Ahmed, racing manager of Al Leith Racing Club, owner of Miss Yechance (1st)

“Today is a huge achievement, really, for Libya, for the Libyan people and, you know, for the Libyan racing industry. We are extremely proud. We had a lot of confidence in this filly and, in the end, she did it. So we are absolutely delighted. It is incredible. I don’t really have the words to describe it, but, you know, in the end, she did what she had to do.”

Karl Burke, trainer of Miss Yechance (1st), England

“It’s absolutely fantastic. Miss Yechance has an enormous amount of speed. It is a great victory for Libya. The owners’ original plan was to take her back to Dubai. But now the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint will inevitably come into the discussion!”

Alessandro Marconi, purchaser of Miss Yechance (1st)

“After Facteur Cheval and Metropolitan, as they say… things come in threes! So this is my third Group 1 horse and I have been very lucky. She is a genuine sprinter. The aim last year was to buy a good horse for Royal Ascot and she exceeded all our expectations today, with Jack [Nicholls] giving her a beautiful ride, on perfect ground, and with Karl Burke also preparing her perfectly. She may not be the biggest filly physically, but she has the biggest heart. Now she will probably take on the best again in the Breeders’ Cup, so we have to work on that. It is going to be a complicated trip. Hopefully Karl will agree with us and the filly will continue to improve for us. So far, it has been an extraordinary adventure. But obviously, the filly will be the first to tell us whether it is possible…”

Jack Nicholls, jockey of Miss Yechance (1st)

“She is the best filly in the world. She flew out of the stalls and maintained a strong pace all the way to the finish. It is phenomenal to win a Group 1 on this great weekend! It is a dream!”

Francis-Henri Graffard, trainer of Shiri (2nd), Chantilly (Oise)

“There is a lot of joy among the owners; this second place feels like a victory! They are friends who are enjoying a wonderful adventure. Shiri is a filly with a lot of character. I don’t hesitate to send her to Philip Prévost-Baratte so that she can get a real change of air and come back at her best. We have always thought highly of her and she has done nothing wrong. Since I dropped her back to 1,000 metres, she has been perfect. If she runs again, it will be in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.”

Aidan O’Brien, trainer of Mission Central (3rd), Ireland

“Mission Central showed once again that he deserves his place among the best sprinters in Europe. He ran well and he simply found two horses too good for him this Sunday. There are no excuses. He could go for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. I think he has the speed and he can adapt to the turning track at Keeneland.”