Lazzat fends off Satono Reve to deny Japan first triumph at Royal Ascot
French raider Lazzat broke Japanese hearts as he outbattled Satono Reve in a thrilling international finish to the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Satono Reve was sent off the 2-1 favourite to become the first Japanese winner at the Royal meeting and was travelling powerfully throughout the contest in the hands of Joao Moreira.
However, it was Jerome Reynier's Lazzat, who made every yard in the hands of James Doyle, who stayed on strongest in the closing stages, striking on his first start for owners Wathnan Racing at odds of 9-2 to continue a fine week for both his rider and owners.
There was drama after the finish as Lazzat unshipped Doyle as the pair returned to receive the Ascot applause, with the four-year-old running loose for some time before eventually being caught and safely returned to the stables.
Lazzat was adding a second Group One win to his tally after landing last year's Prix Maurice de Gheest, but he had been beaten in Australia when sent on his travels at the end of the campaign.
Reynier, saddling his first Royal Ascot winner, said: "He did (win at the top level) as a three-year-old in the Maurice de Gheest in Deauville but after having been all the way to Australia and Hong Kong, I was a bit scared that it was going to be tough to find Lazzat the same as he was but obviously we have been trying him over a mile to open his options, but he's a pure sprinter and we will stick to the sprinting distances over the straight courses for his future.
"That was a pretty tough challenge (from Satono Reve). I've been watching all his races and he's always coming late and he's always running on but James had a really good feeling with the horse and when the Japanese came to him, he put his ears back and tried again and he said there was no way he was going to pass him today."
Paddy Power cut Lazzat to 7-2 favourite from 8-1 for the July Cup at Newmarket, but Reynier feels that is an unlikely option.
He added: "The July Cup is coming a little quickly I guess but maybe we'll defend his crown in the Maurice de Gheest, we've got the Sprint Cup (at Haydock) and we can be back here in October (Qipco British Champions Sprint) because he can handle any ground, if the ground is heavy he can do it then as well.
"He's a very good champion. Today everything went right for once and we're happy to have a first Royal Ascot winner, especially for Wathnan and Nurlan Bizakov as a breeder. I'm very happy for the connections involved."
Reflecting on Lazzat's post-race antics, Reynier said: "I was too happy to throw the winning sheet on him, he got a bit spooky and he obviously wasn't too tired after the race so he said 'let's have a spin around the track'!
"We were so proud of him and wanted to be out on the track with him, but James was saying 'hi' to the crowd and was not paying attention maybe to what he was going to do.
"He's a funny character, that is why he is Lazzat and he is our champion."
While Deauville, Haydock and a return to Ascot look like being on Lazzat's short-to-medium term agenda, the trainer also has one eye on what would be a mouthwatering clash with Hong Kong's superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising before the end of 2025.
He added: "I would love to take him on one day. Let him fight in The Everest and all the big challenges he's got this year and maybe at the end of the year we can take him on in his home town at Sha Tin in the Hong Kong Sprint, why not?
"If he can win two or three more Group Ones this year he'll definitely be the best sprinter in Europe and that would be a good thing."
Doyle, riding his fourth winner of the week, said: "He just spooked at the winner's sheet and got loose for 15 minutes or so - not ideal, is it, but it shows he had a fair bit left! He's a quality horse.
"What a horse race with the Japanese horse coming to join me near the line, and he really pinned his ears back and attacked the line, so he's got some talent and he wasn't going to get beaten today.
"That was a first for me (being unseated like that), and it was a shame because it would have been nice to be able to come in with the horse, not by myself, but there we go. I did apologise to the King and Queen when I went to collect my prize and said I should have stayed in Pony Club a bit longer than I did, and we had a good laugh about that.
"This was the one we wanted - it's a proper race and we've got a proper horse on our hands."
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