1,000 Guineas-winning combination strike again as Proverb lands Criterium

Thursday: Longchamp

It might not quite have matched the excitement of Cachet's victory in the 1,000 Guineas back at the start of the season but George Boughey and Highclere Racing once again proved the combination to follow as Proverb edged out the Spanish challenger Disillusion by a neck in the Listed Criterium de Vitesse under Kevin Stott.

Success was all the more notable as the son of Harry Angel was turned out by Boughey just ten days after defying a penalty at Windsor.

"It has been a bit of a long-term plan and I used Windsor as his last bit of work," said Boughey. "He was still quite green before that and he's still learning. That seemed to put him spot on.

"He's always shown a lot of pace at home and even before his debut we had a high enough opinion of him. It doesn't surprise me that he’s getting to this sort of level.

Boughey added of the Arqana breeze-up graduate: "He's shown a clear liking for slow ground and we were pretty conscious of that before we asked him to step forward so he could be one to send back to France next year."

Kevin Stott was never far from the head of affairs and Proverb always looked like he was just holding the runner-up, while the Michael Bell-trained Maylandsea and the slowly-away Lady Hamana filled out the minor places.

"We were very lucky to get drawn two today, that always helps," said Stott. "I got a nice lead and I was always confident he was going to go and win.

"The soft ground suited him so fair play to George, his placement of these horses is unbelievable."

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