Gilt strikes Abbaye gold
Gilt Edge Girl gave Clive Cox and Luke Morris Group One glory with an impressive performance in the Qatar Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp.
The four-year-old raced tight to the rail throughout having broken from stall one and was never far away from the pace.
Once sent to the front, the chestnut quickly opened up a sizeable advantage and had enough in the tank to hold off fellow filly and British raider Lady Of The Desert, with Mar Adentro claiming third.
Gilt Edge Girl won a Leopardstown Group Three earlier in the season and Cox felt the testing ground had helped her make the transition to Group One winner.
He said: “It’s a great feeling. She has been improving all the way through the season and when I saw her odds were 50-1 on the PMU, it made it look like she wasn’t fancied.
“She has good Group Two form, has a really big heart, and loves the ground.
“I’m very pleased for Luke, he’s a very good jockey.”
Brian Meehan was equally delighted with the effort of Lady Of The Desert after what has been a mixed campaign.
He said: “I’m really pleased. She won well at Ascot but she’s only just starting back at sprinting really and is still sharpening up. She’ll stay in training next year.”
Fellow British handler David Elsworth was understandably disappointed with joint-favourite Swiss Diva after she failed to take a hand in the finish.
He said: “It was really all over before it started because as she was coming out of the stalls, she took a bang on her left side and Ioritz Mendizabal said she was never travelling after that.
“It’s obviously too soon to say what we will do now. We will wait to see how she comes out of the race.”
Cox and Morris were both celebrating their first Group One victory.
Morris said: “I got the splits and actually ended up in front sooner than I would have liked, but she ground it out well.
“Clive gave me my first Group winner with this filly in Ireland and now my first at the top level. It’s fantastic.”
Cox added: “It’s all up in the air as to her future.
“Obviously it’s up to the owners, because of her broodmare potential. They may feel she doesn’t need to achieve any more, but I’d love to have her back again next year.”
