G2 Prix d’Harcourt victory for Cloth Of Stars

Cloth Of Stars retained his unbeaten record for 2017 in the G2 Prix d’Harcourt at Chantilly, France, on Sunday, April 9.
 
The four-year-old Sea The Stars colt, trained by Andre Fabre and partnered by Mickael Barzalona, was held up after breaking smartly from the stalls.
 
He was tucked in, running a bit keenly, among the 11 runners before racing in ninth.
 
Cloth Of Stars progressed gradually in the straight before being asked for his effort past the two-furlong pole.
 
The Godolphin contender ran on powerfully on the outside and led close home, winning by a neck from Mekhtaal in a track record time of 1m 58.77s.
 
Godolphin’s Lisa-Jane Graffard said: “We were very pleased with the performance today – he showed his quality and a great turn of foot.
 
“He could go for the Prix Ganay (G1, May 1, Saint-Cloud, 10.5f) but he also has other options and we will look into them all.”
 
Cloth Of Stars, who won the Prix La Force 12 months ago, made an impressive return to action this year in the G3 Prix Exbury over 10 furlongs at Saint-Cloud on March 19.