Planteur made the most of a significant drop in class as he ran out a workmanlike winner of the Sheila Madden's 60th Birthday Winter Hill Stakes at Windsor.
Third in the last two runnings of the Dubai World Cup and beaten just half a length on his latest appearance in the Group One Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp in late May, Planteur was unsurprisingly a warm order as the 1-2 favourite as he returned from a break for this Group Three assignment.
Marco Botti's stable star moved enthusiastically in the rain-softened ground and Frankie Dettori let him stride to the front before he straightened up for home. Though he was strongly challenged by Al Waab in the closing stages, he had had enough in reserve to hold on by a length and a quarter.
The Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita remains the ultimate aim for the Sheikh Joaan Al Thani-owned six-year-old, but a tilt at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp beforehand appears unlikely.
Botti said: "He has an entry in the Arc, but ideally a mile and a quarter is his best trip. I think for the time being we'll probably stay at a mile and a quarter. It will be up Sheikh Joaan to decide whether he wants to go for the Breeders' Cup Classic. Personally I think he should handle the surface, he ran in Dubai on Tapeta and handled it well, so I think he should take his chance.
"Today he ran back after a break and was probably a bit too fresh. Frankie said he was trying to do too much in the early part of the race, so he let him roll along and once he got to the front he settled. He maybe got a bit tired in the end, but the time is good, so I'm pleased with his performance.
"He's in the Irish Champion Stakes, there is a race in France, the Prix Dollar. They are coming in next month and then there is the Breeders' Cup. Whether we run in the Irish Champion Stakes, we will decide probably in the next week."
It was a first domestic Group-race victory for Dettori since returning from a six-month drugs ban at the end of May. He told At The Races: "It was his first run back and he was a bit fresh. The opposition wasn't fast enough for me, so I had to make my own running. He got tired in the end, but it was a good comeback race."
Roger Varian's Cameron Highland successfully defended his crown in the EBF Stallions August Stakes. The four-year-old got off the mark for the new season on his latest start at Epsom, but was second best in the market at 3-1 to win this Listed prize for the second successive year, with Hughie Morrison's talented filly Shirocco Star the 10-11 favourite.
Richard Hughes looked confident aboard Shirocco Star, but when he asked her for maximum effort the response was limited. Cameron Highland on the other hand found plenty for Andrea Atzeni and pulled right away to claim victory by three lengths.
Varian said: "I am really pleased with how the horse quickened and saw it out to the line. He has a good attitude, despite the hood and the cheekpieces. He didn't quite fire on his first two starts this season, but there was nothing wrong with his win at Epsom last time and tonight he has looked quite good again. Hopefully he can win us a nice race towards the end of the year."
