'Ballerina' Laurens halts O'Brien march to spark joyous scenes for Dance

Laurens delayed Aidan O'Brien's seemingly inexorable march towards a world record top-level haul as she repelled the late challenge of September in a desperately close finish to the bet365 Fillies' Mile.

The victory sparked scenes in direct contrast to the manner in which the Ballydoyle team routinely greet success at the highest level, with Laurens' charismatic owner John Dance and his colourful entourage jumping for joy when the judge confirmed their filly had held on by a nose.

There was delight too for jockey PJ McDonald, who capped a wonderful season with a first Group 1 victory, as he denied O'Brien not only a 24th Group 1 of the year but a fourth straight Fillies' Mile success.

For Dance and his filly all roads now lead to next spring and there is confidence that the best is yet to come.

"It's going to be a very long winter now," he said. "We'd never really unleashed the real Laurens until today, we'd never really used that stride because we felt she was a bit immature and needed a target in front of her to keep her going. In Group 1 company though, we felt today was the day to take advantage of her stride and really play to her strengths.

"I was confident we could get a few of them out of their comfort zones but we just wondered whether she would be strong enough because she's still physically immature. She possibly did just get caught for a bit of weakness in the end but she held on."

Backers and connections of September could well feel they were unfortunate, with the daughter of Deep Impact having struggled to get a clear run before eventually bursting through and finishing powerfully.

Indeed, Ladbrokes cut September into 14-1 for both next year's Qipco 1,000 Guineas and Investec Oaks, with Laurens out at 20-1 for a potential rematch either back on the Rowley Mile or at Epsom.

'A very high class filly'

Trainer Karl Burke, who was adding further juvenile Group 1 success following his Prix Morny one-two earlier in the year, identified the Prix de Diane as another potential target, for which Paddy Power introduced Laurens at 25-1.

"She's a very, very high class filly, we always knew that," said Burke. "She's a real galloper rather than a speed horse at this stage of her career but when we step up to a mile and a quarter next year, she's going to be very good.

"She has this fantastic action, she's like a ballerina, and we've never had her off the bridle at home. The ideal race would be the Prix de Diane but we've got plenty of time to think about it now."

Bet365 Fillies' Mile result and analysis

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