Impressive French G2 victory by Talismanic

Talismanic relished racing over a mile and six furlongs for the first time when the impressive winner of the G2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil at Saint-Cloud, France, on the evening of Friday, July 14.

The four-year-old Medaglia d’Oro colt, trained by Andre Fabre and partnered by Mickael Barzalona, has been very consistent over a mile and a half, winning three times in Listed contests, but the new trip appeared to take him to a different level.

Held up in sixth of the 10 runners on the inside as Full Drago took them along, Talismanic improved to fifth and moved out wider before turning for home.

He was asked to improve in the straight and ran on strongly to hit the front with less than a furlong and a half remaining.

Talismanic soon went clear and was eased in the closing stages to triumph by a length and a quarter from Marmelo in 2m 58.40s on good turf.

Lisa-Jane Graffard of Godolphin commented: “It was an excellent performance by Talismanic, who has beaten a good field.

“Mickael rode the perfect race, keeping him covered up and then coming with a great run to win decisively.

“This victory over a longer trip opens up a lot more options for Talismanic as all the staying races move into contention now.

“We will see how he comes out of this race and then make some plans.”