Exciting Kingman colt Palace Pier kept his undefeated record at a perfect five for five when beating a top field to win the Group I Prix Jacques le Marois (1600m) at Deauville overnight.
The John Gosden trained colt was contesting handicap races earlier this year before winning the Group I St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and kept up the good work with this tougher assignment against older milers.
He handled a super heavy track to power clear for Frankie Dettori and beat Group I filly Alpine Star by three quarters of a length with older Group I miler Circus Maximus in third place, both place-getters also having won Group I races at Royal Ascot this year.
Palace Pier’s win in the Jacques le Marois replicated the success of his sire Kingman, who won the same race in 2014 for John Gosden, also on a wet track.
"It's much deeper than in Kingman's year, he's never seen anything like it," said Gosden, who was not in France due to quarantine rules.
"He's never even worked on soft ground. It was a bit of a shock to him.
"He's impressed me with his courage. I know he's got a bundle of ability but fully at the 600 metres where they join the main track I saw Frankie’s hands having to nurse him and I thought 'uh-oh'. I said to Rachel 'he's hating this ground' and I don't think he liked it one bit. But he just showed a lot of class and guts to get the job done."
Frankie Dettori has been aboard Palace Pier at four of his five wins and is full of praise for the colt.
Purchased for 600,000 guineas at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book One from the Highclere Stud draft by his trainer, Palace Pier runs for Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.
He is the best of two winners from Beach Frolic a half-sister by Nayef to Group II winners Bonfire and Jovialty.
Palace Pier is the current star performer for Invincible Spirit’s exciting sire son Kingman and is his second Group I winner.
Australian breeders can access the bloodline here this spring with Coolmore set to stand Kingman’s first son to stud Calyx at a fee of $17,600.
