Elusive Kate takes away her first Group 1, the Total Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp in her first season
John Gosden’s Elusive Kate won the Total Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp on 2nd October on a field of five candidates for the title. She was being ridden by two times St Leger winner jockey William Buick.
She led the track from the beginning then hung left from two furlong out, pressed by Zantenda (who eventually finished the race third) on inside rail entering final furlong.
She continued going left across Fire Lily (runner-up) then straightened up and kept on with her strength for the final 125 yards and ended up leading the last fifty yards of the track.
Gosden's wife Rachel Hood part-owns the horse and said: "She's a beautiful filly and I'm only sorry our partners from America couldn't be here. It was unusual to see her drift (to the left), but she's only a baby and was trying to do her best”.
David Wachman’s Fire Lily was the runner-up of the race.
She tracked the leader, was carried left two furlong out and then crossed by the winner while entering the final furlong.
However, the jockey did not let go off the pacea and could not threaten or challenge the winner as such.
William Buick added: "She broke well and pricked her ears, but she hung left from halfway and I didn't really understand why she was doing it. When I asked her to quicken in the straight she was really decisive and I didn't know where the others were”.
Elusive Kate has one of the most well maintained record as far as her races go. This is the fifth time she raced this year and has won four times out of it, twice with William Buick and twice with Olivier Peslier.
Her last two wins came at the Deauville and the one, now, at Longchamp entitles her for a hat-trick which she has achieved in her very first season along with her very first Group 1 victory.
Gosden himself added: "She's a pretty good filly. She ran right-handed at Deauville but she got confused in the downhill section (here), the ground is a little quicker there”.
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