3 minute read

La Cressonniere added further lustre to her Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe profile with a no-nonsense victory in the Prix de la Nonette at Deauville.

This season's French Guineas and Oaks heroine, trained by the all-conquering Jean-Claude Rouget, stretched her unbeaten record to six races after she readily accounted for stablemate Jemayel in the Group Two over a mile and a quarter.

La Cressonniere was not overly extended in the hands of Cristian Demuro as the partnership glided into the clear once another Rouget inmate, Ouezy, had done her job as a pacemaker.

Rouget's fourth representative, Lakalas, finished third.

With the David Simcock-trained Chinoiseries a late non-runner, British interests revolved around Nezwaah, from the Roger Varian yard, but the daughter of Dubawi was never a factor in the five-runner affair.

La Cressonniere was chopped to around the 8-1 mark for the Arc and c onnections of the daughter of Le Havre confirmed that she will now head directly to Chantilly for Europe's premier middle-distance race on October 2.

Sylvain Vidal, racing manager for her joint-owner Gerard Augustin-Normand, said: "We're very happy with her - she did the job.

"The jockey told me it was very, very easy and was just like a canter in the morning.

"She did something special and Jean-Claude was very happy with her.

"She will not have had a hard race as it was very easy for her, and she will now be going straight to the Arc."