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Umm Qarn’s Charm Spirit was given a brilliant ride by jockey Thierry Jarnet as he staved off the spirited challenge of Al Shaqab Racing’s Tornando to win the Group I Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp at the Longchamp racecourse in Paris yesterday. Night Of Thunder was a close third. |
Keeping things simple on Toronado, who had come off second best in a head-to-head with Kingman on his last start, jockey Richard Hughes took a lead from German raider Mogadishio, who set a strong gallop, with Charm Spirit tucked away in third on the rail under Theirry Jarnet.
The runners made rapid progress towards the home straight and Mogadishio sought to gain an advantage on his rivals by kicking off the bend.
Such tactics caused little concern for Toronado, a horse blessed with a high cruising speed, and Mogadishio was passed comfortably with just over a furlong to run.
As Toronado charged towards the line, he was chased on his
inside by Charm Spirit and
on his outside by Night Of Thunder, who had come through with a scything run from the rear under Ryan Moore with the rider seeking to bloody another reputation having downed Taghrooda and Australia on separate occasions this season.
But while Night Of Thunder was unable to catch his
Richard Hannon-trained stablemate, Charm Spirit managed to squeeze up the rail and Jarnet thrust his mount’s head down on the line to take a narrow victory for trainer Freddy Head in an
exciting race.