A little over an hour before the show by German DJ Robin Schultz, the stands were packed with nearly 17,000 people present at the ParisLongchamp racecourse (Paris XVI) where the nine races were sold out. Under blazing heat, the show of the unmissable Garden-Party, organized for the national holiday, did not only take place on stage, but also on the track of the Bois de Boulogne with the Grand Prix de Paris, the weather highlight of this evening.
Preparatory race for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (October 2), this Group I highlighted Honesto, which wins the most beautiful jewel of its career on the occasion of its sixth outing. This 3-year-old colt cheered up his entourage, disappointed after his fifth place in the Prix du Jockey Club (Gr. I), on June 5 at Chantilly, where he started from stall n°14 , which had forced him to wait in the rear guard before finishing with a bang. After galloping in last position, the son of Frankel once again put in an excellent jerk to get ahead of the host by a neck Simca Mille, piloted by Théo Bachelot.
Naturally calm, his trainer Fabrice Chappet found it difficult to hide his joy: “I am relieved because in the Jockey Club, he was out of the race and had done a magnificent straight line. Unfortunately, there is only one Prix du Jockey Club… My resident showed himself to be brilliant by going to the canter then was relaxed during the course. He was able to place his very good lead in this event with only six runners. He is a colt who has enough speed to also distinguish himself over 2,000 m. »
An opinion shared by his jockey Stéphane Pasquier: “He has a lot of blood and I had a lot of trouble relaxing him. However, the race was fast paced today and he accelerated really well. I am delighted because I was disappointed in the Prix du Jockey Club. »
Dressed for the first time in the jacket of Gérard Augustin Normand, this magnificent chestnut will be seen again against the best thoroughbreds this autumn on this track underlines his trainer: “When you win the Grand Prix de Paris, you logically think of the Prix de the Arc de Triomphe (Gr. I). We will align it with ambitions. »