Strawbridge at the double as unbeaten duo Suesa and In Crowd sizzle at Chantilly

Monday was a day for celebrations, with spectators making a welcome return to English tracks, while across the Channel the George Strawbridge team had a particularly happy half-hour at Chantilly.

There is not just the satisfaction of Monday’s Group 3 success for Suesa and In Crowd’s conditions stakes strike either; more the promise and excitement of what they could lead to.

As the homebred half-brother to Group 1-winning trio We Are, With You and Call The Wind, In Crowd certainly had a headstart to life, and while he did not race for owner-breeder Strawbridge at two he is making rapid strides this spring.

After a two-and-a-half-length victory on his debut at Longchamp last month, the son of Dubawi out of blue hen In Clover topped that at Chantilly, powering clear to dispose of four rivals by upwards of five and a half lengths. Both runs came over ten furlongs with Vincent Cheminaud in the saddle.

Trainer Freddy Head said: "He did that very well. Beforehand it didn't look straightforward because he had to give weight away. In Crowd still has his whole future ahead of him, given he was very backward. He couldn't run at two because he had a few minor issues. Today he is much more solid."

He is also very much going the right way, and while there were no specific targets forthcoming, it is probably safe to imagine that he will be tested next at stakes level.

Half an hour earlier Suesa had extended her unbeaten record to four with a three-length score in the Group 3 Prix Texanita.

The three-year-old was promoted to second favourite, at around 7-1 (from a general 16), for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot next month off the back of this easy victory under Olivier Peslier against half a dozen toiling rivals.

Suesa, a daughter of Night Of Thunder out of the Orpen mare Sally Is The Boss, and bred by Thomastown Farm Ltd, was a very rare in-training purchase for Strawbridge after winning her two starts as a juvenile in the silks of Georgiana Cabrero.

She raced for the Carlos Laffon-Parias yard at two but is now trained by Francois Rohaut, who said: "When she goes down to the start she looks like she’s out for a morning warm-up, nothing stresses her.

"She goes on any ground but I think she's at her best when it's quick. The other day in the Sigy she showed her true worth, whereas today she found it a little tougher."

He added: "It would be a shame not to go to Ascot. We’ll do whatever is necessary to get her there."

Commonwealth Cup (June 18)

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