'He's just very good' - Sosie shows his versatility with Ispahan success as Andre Fabre eyes Eclipse challenge

Sosie took another step along the road to compiling what would be a season for the record books with a hard-fought success in the Prix d'Ispahan, setting up a crack at the £1 million Coral-Eclipse at Sandown in July. 

Sosie, supplemented for the Ispahan in the week in order to test his speed for the Sandown assignment, responded to pressure from Maxime Guyon a furlong out before wearing down Sardinian Warrior, with daylight back to third-placed Horizon Dore.

The sponsors cut the son of Sea The Stars to 5-1 (from 10) for the Eclipse, while Sosie is no bigger than 10-1 to improve on last season's fourth place in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October. 

"The Wertheimer brothers were keen to run him in the Eclipse so we had to test him over the shorter distance, so the option was the Ispahan," said trainer Andre Fabre. "I was delighted. For a horse that is able to run a mile and a half and over, to have speed enough to beat those nice horses, it’s the best we could expect."

The owners' racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau added: "We had that slight worry about whether he has enough natural speed for this and 1,850 metres [1m1½f] is a different game to when he won the Grand Prix de Paris over 2,400 metres [1m4f] last year or even the Ganay [1m2½f] the other day. 

"Maxime rode him quite forward and set about the leaders early enough because he's a horse that needs to be wound up, but he's just a very good horse.

"He's a magnificent horse to look at who is now physically mature and, while it's a middle-distance family, his dam won over a mile."

Seven Ganay winners had run in the Prix d'Ispahan previously this century and only Cirrus Des Aigles in 2014 had completed the double.

Sosie could head for the Eclipse following his win in the Prix d'Ispahan

For the beaten horses there were plenty of positives to take out considering Sosie entered the picture only on Thursday, with runner-up Sardinian Warrior stepping forward markedly from his Listed win in the Paradise Stakes last time out.

"We've minded him quite carefully with Marc Chan and his manager Jamie McCalmont and it was already a big step up from a Southwell handicap to Listed company last time," said joint-trainer Thady Gosden. "We feel this is the top end of his range and obviously the dynamic of the race changed when Andre supplemented Sosie, who is an exceptionally talented horse and gives us a real marker going forward.

Thady Gosden and Christophe Soumillon before Sardinian Warrior ran second in the Prix d'IspahanCredit: Racing Post/Burton

"We'll see how he comes out of this and discuss it with Marc, but the Queen Anne looks the obvious race for him."

Connections of third-placed Horizon Dore will consider a return to the Prince of Wales's Stakes after he made up late ground, while fourth-placed Elmalka looked set to play a bigger hand but was unable to go with the two principals.

"She was beaten by three strong colts so we'll go back in among her own sex and I don't think she disgraced herself," said Roger Varian. "She could come back to a mile for the Duke of Cambridge or go up to ten [furlongs] for the Pretty Polly, one of those two."

Coral-Eclipse, Sandown July 5
Coral: 6-4 Field Of Gold, 5 Calandagan, Sosie, 6 Economics, Los Angeles, 8 Ruling Court, The Lion In Winter, 10 bar.

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