Jockey Olivier Peslier (left) and H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani-owned French King winning the 129th Longines Grosser Preis von Berlin (Gr1) at Hoppegarten, in Germany, on Sunday.
Hoppegarten: French King, bred and owned by H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani, continued his incredible series of success by winning the 129th Longines Grosser Preis von Berlin (Gr1) at Hoppegarten on Sunday.
Trained by Henri-Alex Pantall, the bay colt began this year by winning the Amir Trophy at the QREC Al Rayyan Park, Doha.
He then lined up in the Carl Jaspers-Preis (Gr2) for another win, followed by the Grosser Hansa Preis (Gr2).
He won on Sunday following a textbook hold-up ride from Olivier Peslier.
He came with an authoritative run 300m from the line to dominate the race, with Communiqué and Old Persian behind him.
Henri-Alex Pantall commented: “French King has really improved and changed. He has won here against confirmed Group 1 horses, and in style. He is easier to ride now, as he was a bit keen as a 3-year-old.”
“He showed a smart turn of foot to beat some top-class horses. After this win, we can dream of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, bit…. The Grosser Preis von Baden is also an opportunity, but I don’t want to do too much with him as his long-term objective is to run in Qatar this winter, and so I would prefer not to over-race him,” Pantall said.
