'It's Tribalist, not the trainer. He's just good' - Andre Fabre praises surprise Moulin hero as Charyn runs out of road

The list of great jockeys to allow the leaders a fraction too much rope over Longchamp's tumbling, turning mile gained a couple of notable additions as Mickael Barzalona and Tribalist gradually increased their advantage in the mid-section of a stacked Prix du Moulin, before showing all the resilience in the world to hold Charyn (Silvestre de Sousa) and Henry Longfellow (Ryan Moore) at bay, with Notable Speech left spinning his wheels in the soft ground. 

Few who have followed the career of this admirable Godolphin-owned five-year-old son of Farhh would begrudge Tribalist a first Group 1, although at 25-1 even fewer expected him to do so in such rarefied company. 

"I know him extremely well now and I know how to ration his effort," said Barzalona, who stealthily stole lengths out of all but the outsider Caramelito on the descent into the false straight. "I knew it was Theo [Bachelot, rider of Caramelito] who was following me and I was confident my horse would keep going, while the ground also helped. He deserved that. He was so tough at the end and he’s turned them all away." 

Trainer Andre Fabre was quick to deflect praise from himself and Barzalona, and said: "It's Tribalist, not the trainer. He's just good. Mickael Barzalona couldn't do anything else and he let him go."

Tribalist's previous run had been over six furlongs at Deauville, when he seemed to resent Barzalona's attempts to hold him up, and before this test Fabre had mentioned the Group 1 Prix de la Foret over seven furlongs and the Prix Daniel Wildenstein down at Group 2 level over a mile as potential Arc weekend targets. 

Fabre added: "Nowadays there are no other options other than the Foret. He could also go for the Breeders' Cup."

Del Mar will almost certainly be the next stop for Notable Speech, who was never able to get within striking distance of the leader and whose effort between the two and the one pole – only Charyn was faster – proved short-lived. 

"Charlie [Appleby] is very philosophical and it’s all now geared towards the Breeders’ Cup, where he’ll get the ground he needs," said Godolphin chief executive Hugh Anderson, who was able to celebrate success, although probably not in the circumstances he expected. 

"We all saw at Goodwood and Newmarket that he has fantastic acceleration on the right surface. Tribalist showed another great attribute and skill on difficult ground." 

France Galop president Guillaume de Saint-Seine with (l-r) Hugh Anderson, Mickael Barzalona, Louise Benard and groom Guillaume Cayel after Tribalist's Prix du Moulin victory

Charyn remains the 5-2 favourite for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on British Champions Day at Ascot next month with Paddy Power, and Roger Varian saw no reason to deviate from that plan after the dual Group 1 winner closed to within a length and a quarter of Tribalist at the line, his time of 34.37sec for the closing three furlongs much slicker than any of his rivals.

"It was a frustrating watch," said Varian. "He’s run a great race, everyone can see he’s run a great race. When you finish second, you’ve got to tip your hat to the winner." 

Varian refused to single out Silvestre de Sousa, and instead blamed the way the whole race gradually evolved for the task Charyn and Henry Longfellow faced in the straight.

"In hindsight yes, they’ve spotted the winner six or seven lengths turning for home, it’s very hard to do on this ground," said Varian. "It’s the wrong thing to jump on the jockey. The race stretched out from halfway but he’s come out of the pack and all but run him down, he’s run a tremendous race. We can’t be disappointed with his performance."

Charyn was unable to repeat his win in the Prix Jacques le Marois Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Varian wasn't inclined to search for excuses in a missing near-fore shoe, and said: "For me it’s not an excuse. It’s frustrating because he probably ran well enough to win the race. We’ll congratulate the winner and move on." 

Varian added: "We’d love to go to Ascot for the QEII, that was always his autumn goal. It’s six weeks away so there’s plenty of time and if he’s sound and healthy, there’s no reason why he won’t go there."

Maxios giving Olympic Glory the slip and Persian King galloping Pinatubo into submission are two recent examples of high-class front-runners landing the spoils at the expense of the favourite in the Moulin; now Tribalist doing likewise to Charyn is part of that Longchamp lore. 

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Ascot, October 19)

Paddy Power: 5-2 Charyn, 6 Fallen Angel, 8 Facteur Cheval, Opera Singer, 10 Almaqam, Notable Speech, 12 Inspiral, Metropolitan, Quddwah, 14 Big Rock, Haatem, Henry Longfellow, Maljoom, Nashwa, Tamfana, Ylang Ylang, 16 Docklands, 20 bar

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