Aventure hailed as 'the best horse I've ever had' by trainer as Arc runner-up sets up Group 1 options in style

Aventure was cut by Coral to 14-1 from 16 for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after sweeping past her rivals to land the Group 2 Prix Corrida under Maxime Guyon.

Last year's Arc runner-up was also cut for the Coronation Cup but trainer Christophe Ferland confirmed that Epsom was off the agenda for Aventure. 

"We knew she would progress a lot for her comeback, which was a pretty easy success," said Ferland. "She's won well there and she'll need to progress again when she steps back into Group 1 company, which will be here in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud."

This was a second Group 2 success for the daughter of Sea The Stars, who was runner-up to Bluestocking in the Prix Vermeille and the Arc last autumn. 

Ferland said: "There's never a worry with her; she is an extraordinary filly to have anything to do with and undoubtedly the best horse I have ever trained, to this point at least. Dabirsim was a very different horse and and the fastest horse I've ever worked with in the mornings and the afternoons.

"But she is so consistent and she's running at these Classic distances; in my eyes she is a queen."

While Aventure had enjoyed the benefit of a run in the Prix Allez France, runner-up Survie was making her first start of the year and showed she has handled the tricky transition from three to four in fine style.

"We're very happy with her comeback as we knew she would need this race," said Flo Hermans, joint-trainer with Nicolas Clement. "We thought she would be second to Aventure and she'll come on a lot for this.

"She picked up very nicely and it's good to see she still has that change of gear. I think she looks better as a four-year-old and the dream is still very much still alive."

Hermans added: "The programme for her is still wide open and we're still deciding between 2,000 metres and 2,400 metres. Stephane Pasquier said she might be better over 2,000 metres and we'll also hope not to run into Aventure again."

Survie holds an entry in the Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh on June 28.

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