Constitution River flows to Aidan O’Brien’s French Derby success in the Prix du Jockey Club | Race News

Constitution River displayed his star quality when leading one-t-three from Aidan O’Brien in the Prix du Jockey Club.

The surprise score of the winner of the Dee Stakes’s Classic has been the subject of much discussion in recent weeks, but as the Ballydoyle champion remained true to his initial assumption that Chantilly’s 10 furlongs would prove suitable for the son of Wootton Bassett, he was vindicated in style.

Giving a tricky draw in 15th place out of 16, O’Brien had predicted a story of tactics, but with his teammates from Montreal and Hawk Mountain moving forward in the first stages while Ryan Moore kept the Constitution River wide before crossing to hide his teammates, it was the Irish attackers who were in charge from start to finish.

While Montreal led the trio led by Coolmore in the straight, the eye was always trained on Moore on the silks of Michael Tabor as he asked his mount to speed up and he did smartly to lead home Hawk Mountain for the second time and the fast Montreal was not embarrassed for the third time.

O’Brien, who won for the third time, said: “We’re delighted and a lot of people put in a lot of work every day to make this happen.

“I knew three boys [jockeys] they were talking before the competition and communicating very well and they had everything clear in their minds about what was going to happen, but obviously when they came out they were thinking about themselves and whatever happens, happens.

“Ryan played a very tough draw and we thought it would be very difficult for him as he is [Constitution River] he is still young and very green. He went to Chester and won easily with a little ease down the stretch so this was always going to be a different situation for him on the fast track.”

Constitution River has been made joint-favourite at 5-2 alongside Eclipse Ombudsman by race sponsor Coral, but while O’Brien refused to rule the race out, he indicated a patient approach might be taken with the talented colt, who was also made 10-1 from 16s in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe by the same company.

“He’s a big horse and he won’t be racing in the summer and I wouldn’t be surprised if we can be gentle on him and take our time with him a bit before his next run,” added O’Brien.

“It was a tough race today and those horses were very competitive. The boys will make decisions and talk to MV. [Magnier] then you will talk to me. I would imagine they will take their time and he might have a little break in the summer and come back for one of those Arc tests or something in the fall.

“Ryan said before the race the way he rides him, a mile, a quarter mile or a mile and a half everything will be fine. Obviously we learned today he’s a kid and we’ll see where we go. Ryan said he’s definitely going to go forward.

“It’s obvious that if he does well in the race, Coral-Eclipse is a race that boys usually run when they are three years old, so I won’t say anything when I’m out, but we’ll see how it is.”

O’Brien’s 1-2-three French Derby comes 10 years after Found was led by stablemates Highland Reel and Order Of St George in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, which he ran that year at Chantilly.

On another historic success in France, O’Brien said: “The boys had some good horses to split between here and Epsom and it was the logical thing to do with the horses that came here. If it happens it’s unbelievable and you can’t believe it can happen to Michael as well. [Tabor] and Derrick [Smith] being here is an amazing thing.

“We always look at the races with one eye closed and open them as they go and see what happened, so it’s really amazing and there’s a lot of effort every day. I’m happy for everyone.”

Meanwhile, Moore predicts more on his mount after being praised for his smart ride aboard the winner.

He said: “We thought a lot about him, the draw was a bit of a concern but I knew I had a very good horse and I believed a horse like him could win that because he’s got a lot of speed and a good attitude and gets the trip well – I’d say he’s a really special horse.

“He might go on a trip at one point in his career, but he can be relaxed when he comes back from a trip and he can be relaxed to carry on – he’s a rare horse.”