Pierre Lapin Scores in Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury

Roger Varian is one of the most measured operators of his profession, and it is that temperament—and the patience that goes with it—that allowed the trainer to unlock the talent within Pierre Lapin, who added his name to the decorated roll of honor for the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes (G2).

Owned by the yard's biggest supporter, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, Pierre Lapin created a nice impression when winning at Haydock in May, but Royal Ascot never materialized.

Instead, Varian backed off the juvenile, whose half brother Harry Angel won the Mill Reef in 2016.

Betfair and Paddy Power make Pierre Lapin—which translates as Peter Rabbit in English—14-1 (from 25) for the Darley Dewhurst Stakes (G1) and 33-1 for the QIPCO Two Thousand Guineas (G1).

However, connections see the Cappella Sansevero (GB) colt as more of a sprinter.

"He's a nice horse, and we thought that when he won at Haydock," Varian said. "We thought we might have a Coventry (Stakes, G2) horse, but he fell away after that and didn't look ready for Ascot, and it has taken us an age to get him back. 

"I would have loved to have run him a few weeks ago to see if he was a Middle Park (G1) horse, but I didn't have him where I wanted him, and he's only come good the last couple of weeks. That allowed us to run him in confidence as we know he's a good horse."

Ridden by Andrea Atzeni, Pierre Lapin was keen early but asserted well late to deny fellow 9-4 favorite Mystery Power.

"I'm delighted to see him win like that today, and I'd like to thank Sheikh Obaid for his patience," Varian said.

"The horse won a long time ago and looked promising that day and has had to wait a long time to reappear. He was entitled to be green as he'd only ran once and that was three months ago. I don't think it was a vintage field. It was a solid field, so, on just his second run, it was a good performance."

Ribchester is another recent Mill Reef winner to graduate to top honors, and Varian continued: "I think Pierre Lapin needs to furnish, and he's not the finished article yet.

"He's not a rock-and-roll 2-year-old, and we've had to be patient. He's a horse for next year and will have learned a lot. I think he's a six-furlong horse—when he's a stronger horse, I think he'll be a faster one.

"We'll see how it comes out of this race before making plans. He didn't come out of his first race that well, so his demeanor over the next 10 days will tell us if we can run him again as a 2-year-old."