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Notable Group One strike for Saeed bin Suroor
Royal Marine gave Godolphin another big-race success when powering home in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp.
The Saeed bin Suroor-trained colt took the giant leap from winning a Doncaster maiden – where he beat the promising Turgenev – to a Group One contest in his stride, as he burst the bubble of the Freddy Head-trained Anodor.
Oisin Murphy – who has also had a superb 2018 – had Royal Marine in second place behind the pace-setting Broome from Aidan O’Brien’s stable.
Murphy sent the son of Raven’s Pass into the lead a furlong out and kept up the gallop to score by a neck from Broome, with Anodor only third having had every chance.
Bin Suroor said: “The two-year-olds this year have done really well and Royal Marine has been good since he won at Doncaster last time.
“I talked to Sheikh Mohammed and he made the decision to run him in this race. Now I have to go back to him again to ask about his future.
“We’ll get him back to Dubai. What I like about him is he stays well, but he also has plenty of speed.
“I thought Oisin Murphy gave him a very good ride as the horse took a strong hold.”
He added: “He’s a big, strong horse and in the future he could be anything.
“He’s still a baby and he will be better in the future. We’ll talk to Sheikh Mohammed and make a decision about what we are going to do.
“Sheikh Mohammed sent me nice horses this year. I’m very positive for the future.”
Murphy – celebrating a 10th Group One triumph of the year – said: “Saeed has been very good to me. It was great to land him another Group One.
“The lads in the yard put in a lot of hard work. So much goes on behind the scenes. A day like this is to reward everyone.
“I’ve been fortunate. Look at the opportunities I get – I’m attached to Qatar Racing and Sheikh Fahad has had a fantastic year.
“He’s a very good horse, obviously low on experience but he has plenty of ability and I hope he can make his mark next year.”
O’Brien said of Broome: “He’s finished for the year, but he’s a horse that I’m really looking forward to.
“I don’t think he was finished – he was coming back at them a bit at the end.”