Lazzat proved the step up to Group 1 level to be no issue when running out an emphatic winner of the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on Sunday.
Trained by Jerome Reynier in Marseille, the three-year-old gelding has gone from strength to strength this season. The son of Territories won three times in the space of a couple of months at Cagnes-sur-Mer at the beginning of the year, before back-to-back Group 3 victories over seven-furlongs at Deauville and Longchamp in the summer.
Lazzat was sent off a 33/10 chance to stretch his unbeaten record to six on his first outing at Group 1 level and in all truth, those that took the odds, never really had a moment of doubt as regular rider Antonio Orani tracked the pace-setting Matilda Picotte before showing his rivals a clean pair of heels with a sparkling turn of foot approaching the furlong marker.
Beauvatier briefly looked as though he was going to throw down a challenge towards the centre of the track, but he failed to match the finishing kick of the winner and was eventually passed by the improving Exxtra for the second spot. The winning margin was three lengths, with the Andrew Balding-trained filly Flora Of Bermuda faring best of the British raiders back in fourth. Jane Chapple-Hyam's Group 1 July Cup hero Mill Stream, who was sent off the 2/1 market leader, was always close enough to land a blow if good enough, but he could never really get on terms with the leaders and finished back in fifth.
Bet365 cut the winner to 8/1 (from 25s) for the Golden Eagle, held at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday the 2nd of November. The prestigious contest is over the same six-and-a-half-furlong distance as the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and with the excellent prize money on offer, winning trainer Jerome Reynier confirmed it could be a plausible target.
He told Sky Sports Racing: "He's done the seven furlongs at Longchamp really well when winning the Prix Paul de Moussac so he has been entered in the Prix de la Foret.
"But obviously the prize-money for the Golden Eagle is unbelievable and that would be a great challenge and we would love to go to Australia with a runner. And he wouldn't be just any kind of runner. Maybe we will be tempted."
"The logistics are quite hard to put in place with two weeks quarantine in Newmarket and two weeks quarantine over there, but if he feels well and he will travel OK – he's very easy to handle and to deal with. He doesn't need much work, he's just a good horse and a pure champion, I think."
Reynier added: It was just amazing and when you have an unbeaten horse and are climbing up the hill step by step and you reach Group 1 level, to win that way is just unbelievable.
"This horse race is pushing all the limits, and it is unbelievable the way he was physically and mentally today, he was so strong, and it gives you so much confidence."
The victory was capping off what had already been a fine day for the owner Nurlan Bizakov, who tasted further group success earlier on the card when Ramadan landed the Group 3 Prix Daphnis.
"Ramadan won the Prix Daphnis for him and now Lazzat has won the Maurice de Gheest, so I'm very happy for him because he is a good supporter of us," said Reynier.
