Palace Pier carried the colours of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, to victory at the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois and joined a select group of equine stars to clinch the prize two years in a row.
The four-year-old son of Kingman, under Frankie Dettori, edged out the 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes winner Poetic Flare by a neck at the Deauville racecourse on Sunday.
The Breeders' Cup mile winner Order Of Australia and Godolphin’s Midtown finished third and fourth respectively.
Palace Pier joined Spinning World and Miesque in winning the prestigious mile contest for a second time in a row.
Palace Pier, jointly trained by John and his son Thady Gosden, kicked off his 2021 campaign by taking a Group 2 prize at Sandown followed by the Group 1s, the Lockinge at Newbury and Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot.
“I've made no secret of the fact I lost a lot of time with him and that he had a blood disorder,” Gosden said.
“I'll be absolutely frank with you, we've come here on the bare minimum of work, but his class got him through.
“He's blowing hard, but if you don't come for the Jacques le Marois it's a rather pointless year, we always wanted to come back here.
“I ran him on 80 per cent fitness; he's got the class and the jockey. It's full marks for him, he was definitely tiring in the last few strides, that's because he was ill and missed a lot of time. It was a superb race full of fabulous horses; the second horse is made of iron."
Dettori celebrated a sixth success in the Jacques le Marois, and the veteran jockey paid tribute to the winning horse.
“He's the best miler I've rode, he's beautiful and got everything. I love him so much, he's a joy to ride and be around,” he said.
