Aga Khan speedster cut for Group 1 sprint at Royal Ascot after dominating rivals

Mickael Barzalona returns aboard Rayevka after the G3 Prix Saint-Georges

Mickael Barzalona returns aboard Rayevka after the G3 Prix de Saint-Georges

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Rayevka showed no ill effects of a long spell in Dubai when striding clear of her rivals in the Group 3 Prix de Saint-Georges.

Paddy Power cut Rayevka to 12-1 from 20 for the King Charles III Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot next month, and trainer Francis Graffard said that will be the main target for a filly who loves fast ground.

The Aga Khan Studs' daughter of Blue Point spent a month in the Middle East between runs in the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint and the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint, both over six furlongs.

"I'm pleased to get her back over 1,000 metres [five furlongs] because the race in Dubai really showed me that she doesn't stay further," said Graffard. "We gave her a little bit of time when she came back and that went about as well as a comeback can go.

"The Group 1 at Royal Ascot is her objective and before that there is a Group 3 at Chantilly on Jockey Club day [the Prix du Gros-Chene] and, depending on how she is physically, we'll see if she needs to run there or go straight to Ascot.

"Mickael [Barzalona] told me she was pretty ready to run today, so we might well skip Chantilly and go straight to Ascot."

Another French-trained sprinter, the three-year-old Afjan, took the runner-up honours, with Henri-Francois Devin considering Chantilly as well.

"He's run very well again and he's very consistent," said Devin. "He got a great run up the rail and has just bumped into a filly who was better on the day. But he lost nothing in defeat."

Rogue Lightning faired best of the British-trained runners in fourth, with last season's winner Mgheera back in sixth.

Saint-Alary surprise

Lapotheose and Alexis Pouchin won the G2 Camille Pissarro Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary

Lapotheose and rider Alexis Pouchin after winning the G2 Camille Pissarro Coolmore Prix Saint-AlaryCredit: Racing Post/Burton

The unbeaten Lapotheose dented some big reputations when landing the Coolmore-sponsored Prix Saint-Alary under Alexis Pouchin, getting the better of Concorde Agreement at the end of a protracted battle up the straight.

The winner was the only member of the six-strong line-up not to hold an entry in the Prix de Diane Longines, and trainer Yann Barberot does not seem inclined to rush into any decision about supplementing the daughter of Wootton Bassett.

"I took a leaf out of the Rouget playbook in that I’ve given her some easy races and not over-faced her up until now," said Barberot. "Rather than a lightning turn of foot, she can sustain a long burst of acceleration.

"It was a deliberate choice with the owners not to enter her in the Classics and I think she is more of a filly for the autumn. She has more developing to do."

Gilded Prize lost her unbeaten record in disappointing fashion, failing to pick up for Colin Keane and finishing well beaten in fifth.

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