Verse is poetry in motion
Immortal Verse confirmed the superiority of French three-year-old fillies as she led home a memorable one-two for the Collet family in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The front two were not exactly locked together, with Robert Collet’s Immortal Verse producing a stellar finishing kick to sprint two and a quarter lengths clear of Nova Hawk, saddled by the trainer’s son Rodolphe.
Collet snr had been absent from this winner’s enclosure since the 1986 King’s Stand, when his fine sprinter Last Tycoon had carried the same white and green silks of Richard Strauss to victory.
Gerald Mosse’s three previous successes at the meeting had included this Group One in 1993.
And in a week when there have been plenty of examples of excessively positive riding, the vastly experienced international pilot took a more passive approach and treated the event as if he were in one of the typically slowly-run French races.
He was anchored at the back of the field around the home turn but with the 8-1 shot enjoying the rain-sodden turf more than many others, she took off around the wide outside and collected in style.
Immortal Verse lined up in the 1000 Guineas but had to be withdrawn, and finished a long way behind Golden Lilac, the best of her generation, in the French version.
But she had returned to the standards her trainer expected in the Prix de Sandringham 12 days ago and could now face off with the pre-eminent French lady Goldikova in the Prix Rothschild at Deauville on July 31.
“It’s 25 years since Last Tycoon and I’ve been back many times without winning,” said Collet through a translator.
“This filly is the best filly I have trained. At Newmarket she had a blind on to go into the stalls but there was a lot of wind and it irritated her.
“In the French Guineas things didn’t go to plan, the ground was very dry, and she loves soft ground.
“You have to be really stubborn to come back and prove that you have a Group One filly. Her biggest asset is her turn of foot.”
Collet added: “I think the Prix d’Astarte (now Rothschild) will be next.”
Mosse reasoned: “She was a bit keen, so I decided to drop her behind to help her relax.
“When I started to pull her out she reacted quicker than I expected and we got there too soon.
“It’s the first time I’ve been on board and I knew she’d react, but not that fast. I had the race won with 500 metres to go.
“The last good filly I rode was Gold Splash who won the Coronation many years ago but this filly has a fantastic turn of foot
“Only top horses can do that. It’s one of the best moments to win ride a winner at Royal Ascot – it is known worldwide and a dream to have a runner, let alone a Group One winner.”
His son Rodolphe’s Nova Hawk has finished fourth in both the English and French Guineas, and the younger Collet beamed: “I’m happy for two reasons – my father beat me, and it is always better when it is your family.
“Also last year I came here for the first time but Sahpresa was sick and we finished nowhere (in the Windsor Forest). It shows you should never say stop.
“In racing, sometimes you are down and sometimes you are up.
“She ran a good race but she needs to be a bit more relaxed because she has a lot of speed. Perhaps seven furlongs is a better trip than a mile.”
Aidan O’Brien’s Together, the 7-2 favourite after finishing runner-up in the English and Irish Guineas, was fifth, with Ryan Moore reporting: “She didn’t handle the ground.”
Barefoot Lady kept up her excellent work for the Richard Fahey stable in third, but the big disappointment was the American raider More Than Real, who trailed in 11th of 12.
“When they broke it seemed like she found the spot we were looking for, but when the race quickened she had no turn of foot on that soft ground,” explained trainer Todd Pletcher.
“We’ll take her home and look for something at Saratoga now.”
