Highfield Princess Takes Prix Maurice de Gheest

Victory in the Aug. 7 Arc Prix Maurice de Gheest (G1) was secured with the brilliant execution of not one but two plans. 

The first piece of foresight was for trainer John Quinn to give Highfield Princess  a short break after running an excellent sixth in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot, fixing Deauville at the beginning of August as the main aim.

As jockey Jason Hart said after Sunday's race: "When the boss targets a race, they never usually disappoint."

Quinn's son and assistant, Sean, also watched an emerging course bias up the Deauville straight over the weekend and walked the course twice. In the mile handicap that preceded the big one, the far-side group was miles clear of the near side at halfway and the finish was dominated by horses drawn high. No good for Hart and Highfield Princess in stall 4.

"I was very concerned," said Sean Quinn. "I watched the last handicap yesterday and they went right over the far side so it didn't look like she was ideally drawn. 

"I walked the track yesterday and again this morning, and it is quite poached up the stands' side so you can see why they went where they went. But we had a game plan to get out on the fresh ground. I believe that any part of the middle is OK and so it proved."

For a yard that has consistently punched above its weight at the major flat festivals, the Quinns were only recording their second group 1 success, eight years after The Wow Signal  burnt his way up the Deauville turf in the 2014 Darley Prix Morny (G1). That ensures Sunday's winner will earn a special place in the hall of fame at Highfield Stables.

"She's the best, isn't she?" said Sean Quinn. "She's a group 1 winner. The Wow Signal won a group 1 here and she's done it now. She's very good and has kept improving, which is a credit to her. 

"We've had good horses, but you need one every year to come up and fly the flag. She's done that.

"We retired a few good fillies last year and you always wonder, might it leave you a little bit bare. But she's really stepped up to the plate."

Quinn added: "It's fantastic because (her owner) John Fairley is our landlord at Highfield Stables and he bred her. It's massive."

After such skillful planning in both the immediate and medium-term having paid off spectacularly, the Quinns already have "half an idea" about where the daughter of Night of Thunder  might end up; the sort of "idea" that might mean plane tickets already have been booked. 

Sean Quinn said: "She's in the Nunthorpe in 12 days, that'll probably come too soon. I wouldn't be afraid to come back in trip when you see how fast she is. 

"I think she'd win anywhere from five to seven (furlongs). You've got Sprint Cups at Haydock, the Flying Five at the Curragh, and dad has always half-thought about the Breeders' Cup over five-and-a-half around a bend at Keeneland. They're nice aims to have."

Several of the stable's near-misses at the group 1 level since The Wow Signal have featured on Hart's highlight reel and he was clearly delighted to have notched a first top-level success from not all that many chances.

"These are the races everyone wants to be riding in and I've had a couple of near-misses with El Astronaute  in the 2019 (Longines Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp) and Safe Voyage  in the (2020 Qatar Prix de la) Foret (G1), but it's nice to get here and get a group 1," Hart said. "It's what we all work for.

"We didn't go very quick which I think helped us because we were in the right place to attack when we wanted to.

"She leaned a bit both ways, hence the (stewards') inquiry, but she was a game winner in the end. She was well on top at the finish."

Having all raced in a bunch, there were a few hard-luck stories behind the winner, but Owen Burrows had no complaints as his Minzaal  got the better of a tight battle for second, edging out Garrus  and Rohaan  by a head and a nose.

"I'm very pleased with the run and he's a horse who always turns up," Burrows said. "Hopefully one day he's going to get his head in front. He's been group 1-placed at 2, 3, and 4 now. It's the quickest ground he's been on, it's quicker than Newbury which surprised me. He'll go to Haydock now for the Sprint Cup and hopefully he'll get a little bit more juice there. He goes on most ground."

Royal Ascot winner Naval Crown  looked poised to run a big race, but he could only manage fifth, which was two spots better than a flat-looking Perfect Power .

Naval Crown's rider James Doyle said: "It was a bit of a lackluster run. We had a good spot behind the Japanese horse and the winner to the outside, but when I pressed the button nothing happened."