Grateful is the word as Christophe Soumillon thanks his lucky stars for the chance to ride for Aidan O'Brien

Christophe Soumillon travelled to Longchamp by scooter and at quite an aggressive pace, if his own account of the journey time is to be believed, and then motored into the winner's enclosure thanks to Grateful in the Qatar Prix de Royallieu. The veteran jockey was instructed by Aidan O'Brien to leave it late and did so, delivering the filly with a scything run up the middle of the track to beat 14 rivals to the Group 1 prize.

O'Brien had already won three races on the card and was clearly in red-hot form, but those had been well-supported favourites. His three Royallieu runners were returned at double-figure odds and Grateful was the least fancied at a shade over 20-1.

That was doubtless a response to her having run below market expectations in Doncaster's Park Hill, when she faded into third after racing prominently and flashed her tail once when the whip was used. A complete change of tactics produced a much better result here.

"All the race, I was travelling so well," Soumillon said. "Aidan just told me, don't come too early with her, try to be one of the last to quicken."

Shortly before the home turn, Grateful had just two behind her and then Soumillon was made to wait even longer than planned when Mistral Star moved up on his outside and held him in. He was eventually able to switch out from behind a line of five horses before finding his three-year-old mount could quicken like any Vespa.

Soumillon hailed O'Brien as "the best trainer in the world" and welcomed this success as a confidence-booster ahead of the Arc, in which he will again ride for the Ballydoyle trainer aboard Continuous. 

Aidan O'Brien sent out four winners at Longchamp on Saturday

"It's always important to win races on big weekends like this, and when you see the form that Aidan brings today on the track, you just hope all the rest are in the same shape.

"If all his horses run great today, I'm sure they're going to do the same tomorrow. When you have the luck to ride for such big trainers, owners and breeders, you just close your eyes and let the flow go." Hopefully, he doesn't have the same approach to riding scooters, considering his 15-year-old son Mika was riding pillion.

Having become a Group 1 winner, Grateful has probably run her final race. "Her mum sadly passed away," O'Brien said, in reference to that great racemare Tepin, winner of the Queen Anne in 2016. "So this filly is priceless as a broodmare by Galileo. And she's a queen to look at."

Two more for O'Brien

Illinois (Ryan Moore) beats Trafalgar Square in the Prix ChaudenayCredit: Edward Whitaker

O'Brien had earlier notched his first victory in the Group 2 Prix de Chaudenay thanks to a strong-staying performance from Illinois, previously beaten a neck in both the St Leger and the Voltigeur. He thought it unlikely the three-year-old would be asked to race again this year and mused about a possible trip to Dubai in the spring.

The trainer landed a slightly more valuable pot in the Criterium d'Automne, a conditions race for two-year-olds, with Mount Kilimanjaro, who was losing his maiden tag. Even so, the son of Siyouni attracted plenty of support, being cut from 5-1 overnight to a general 2-1 shortly before the off.

"He'll be a lovely middle-distance horse for next year, a mile or a mile-two horse," O'Brien said, agreeing that a Guineas trial would be a likely place for Mount Kilimanjaro to start his 2025 campaign. But the horse's season might not be over yet, as Saint-Cloud's end-of-term Group 1s are under consideration.

Jayarebe a possible for Breeders' Cup

A trip to the US is a distinct possibility for Jayarebe, who resisted a late challenge from Almaqam to win the Group 2 Prix Dollar for Brian Meehan. 

The three-year-old's Hampton Court win at Royal Ascot has worked out well and he was last seen chasing home Economics at Deauville in August.

Jayarebe (Sean Levey) wins the Prix DollarCredit: Edward Whitaker

"The horse is on an upward curve," said Meehan, confirming Jayarebe would stay in training next year. 

The trainer has no doubts about the suitability of stepping up to a mile and a half, and the Breeders' Cup Turf is a possible target if the colt recovers well from this trip.

Winning jockey Sean Levey said he had been worried about the ground, which he described as "proper soft", unlike anything Jayarebe had tackled before. "He's handled it nicely."

Read more:

'He's just better than them' - Moore hails star stayer as Kyprios becomes Aidan O'Brien's most prolific Group 1 performer 

Aidan O'Brien and Kyprios continue to dominate as opinions differ on likely Arc day ground 

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