International stakes success for Almanzor

Cambridge Stud shuttle stallion Almanzor sired his third stakes winner when Lassaut romped away with the Listed Prix Nureyev (2000m) at Deauville on Sunday.

The three-year-old is prepared by Jean-Clade Rouget, who trained his sire, and the three-time winner is part-owned by Haras d’Etreham, the northern hemisphere home for his sire.

Ridden by Cristian Demuro, Lassaut was held up last of the seven runners through the early stages of the race. Switched wide, the colt still had ground to recover inside the final 200m but produced an outstanding turn of foot to seal the contest impressively.

"He reminded me there of certain other days (with Almanzor). Three people have already come up to me and said they've never seen a horse do that,” Rouget told the Racing Post.

“It was all the more impressive because he did it in the space of 250 metres. I thought he was going to be third, but he accelerated twice. I think we’ll need to look at England for him."

Haras d’Etreham also shares in the ownership with OTI Racing in Almanzor’s son Athabascan, who ran third in the Prix Nureyev, while his daughter Queen Trezy finished runner-up in the Gr.3 Prix Minerve (2500m) on the Deauville card.

It completed a strong weekend for the stallion following Manzoice’s victory at Rosehill to boost his claims for upcoming black-type targets including the Gr.1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m).