Double Major wins Prix Royal-Oak again under inspired Maxime Guyon with 'great team work' praised by trainer

Anyone who saw Double Major virtually walk over the line in the Prix du Cadran might have wondered about his ability to bounce back just three weeks later, and so Christophe Ferland and his team deserve plenty of credit for turning him out in prime shape to defend his title in the Prix Royal-Oak. 

Nor was this a penalty kick, given he was up against the Cadran runner-up Trueshan and the classy Sevenna's Knight, who was a fine fifth to Bluestocking in the Arc. 

Ferland was quick to pay tribute to Maxime Guyon, both for accepting defeat at Longchamp and for his wise counsel as to how Double Major would come out of such a test.

"Obviously, there was a slight worry that the Cadran might have left its mark, but I talked a lot with Maxime and he wasn’t hard on the horse when he felt his chance was gone that day," said Ferland.

"He knows the horse and could feel it wasn’t working out, so he looked after him with a view to running again in three weeks. That’s great team work and it has all worked out."

Ferland said he struggled to get condition back on Double Major early this year after he returned from Alain and Gerard Wertheimer's Haras de Saint-Leonard, and said he would stay in Chantilly over the winter with a view to building back up to a crack at the Dubai Gold Cup at the beginning of April.

His programme for 2025 will be geared around staying at around two miles, with the Cadran having shown Double Major doesn't enjoy an extreme distance.

Ferland said: "[The Cadran winner] Kyprios is obviously a very good horse. He gallops his rivals into the ground and breaks their hearts. It’s not an accident he has won so many Group 1s. 

"We’ll probably run across him at one stage or another next year, but over 3,000 metres [one mile seven furlongs] it might be a slightly different proposition than in a Gold Cup or a Cadran, neither of which will be on Double Major's schedule for next year.

"Now he's in top form, we'll keep him around in the yard and he can lead the babies and his little brother, and we'll prepare for Dubai I think." 

Maxime Guyon and Christophe Ferland after the success of Double Major

After his fine effort in the Arc, Sevenna's Knight gave his all in second, just getting the better of the evergreen Trueshan, ridden by Hollie Doyle.

Doyle said: "He’s never done France back-to-back before. He hasn’t won a Group 1 this year unfortunately, but he’s been so consistent, maybe the most consistent he’s been at any stage in his career. Second in the Cadran, and a few weeks before that [he was] second in the Doncaster Cup, and he ran well on quick ground at Goodwood. 

"He’s still enjoying his racing and he always pulls up fine, which is what you want from an old boy."

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