James Ferguson raider El Bodegon earns crack at Group 1 after Chantilly strike
James Ferguson is already plotting a third French raid with smart two-year-old El Bodegon, who secured Group 3 honours at Chantilly on Wednesday.
The son of Kodiac moved from a prominent position to strike in the 1m1f Prix de Conde by a length and a quarter under Ioritz Mendizabal, holding the Andre Fabre-trained True Testament, while hot favourite Vadeni lost his unbeaten record in third.
Sights are now set on a top-level breakthrough with the Criterium de Saint-Cloud on October 23 on the agenda for El Bodegon.
Ferguson said: "He ran at that level at Longchamp a couple of weeks ago and handled the trip over there very well, so it gave us the option of going back. He appreciated the soft ground and the step up in distance seemed to work.
"He'll be a nice horse next year but from first glance you'd have to look at going back out there for the Criterium de Saint-Cloud."
The win continues a fine year for the Newmarket trainer in his second full season, with this his second success at Group level.
El Bodegon is a brother to Best Solution, another well-travelled campaigner who landed Group 1 wins in Germany and Australia.
"His attitude around the place is very similar to his brother, who Saeed [bin Suroor] did so well with at Godolphin," Ferguson added. "We take each day as it comes and hopefully he can do more and more. If he can continue on that upward path then he could be very exciting."
Best Solution also ran in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud, finishing a length second in 2016 behind subsequent Arc hero Waldgeist.
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