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A Caulfield Cup start could be on the cards for Jack Darcy following his start-to-finish win in France in the 1m4½f Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville on Sunday.
Trained in the UK by Paul and Oliver Cole, the success marked a first Group victory for the gelding, and he started the outsider in the field of five. The four-year-old went straight to the lead under Cristian Demuro and dictated terms for the entire contest, drawing clear at the end for a comfortable one-and-three-quarter length victory.
Owned in part by a number of Australians, Edward Gascoigne, co-owner of the colt, spoke with French publication Jour de Galop following the win:
"He likes to lead, and Cristian Demuro judged it perfectly. He had run the Geoffrey Freer Stakes last start at Newbury, over 1m5f, [where he finished sixth] with the idea of then going to the Melbourne Cup. But the distance was too far. It wasn't a bad run other than that, and the event was won by Arrest, who was one time favourite for the Derby, but he did not stay. Oliver Cole [co-trainer] said he came back really well and in good shape, which is why we decided to run the Grand Prix de Deauville.
"We had watched the entrants, the race seemed like a great opportunity and the withdrawal of Junko [pre-post favourite] this morning certainly helped. He is tough but he also has speed. On the distance side, he can go over 1m2f if there is pace and, if the race is not too strenuous, he can run 1m4f or 1m4½f like today. He had everything in control. It's a great victory, we are very happy! I am delighted with this Group victory in Deauville."
Gascoigne went on to say: "I have good memories here since I came with my father a few years ago for a poker tournament, which I won. It was at the Lucien Barrière Casino [sponsors of Sunday's race], so this victory brings back good memories."
Jack Darcy is owned by a combination of French, English and Australians including Michael Burns who was the co-owner of Constantinople, one of the Melbourne Cup favourites in 2019. Gascoigne explained how Burns bought a share in Jack Darcy:
"He was very patient, he bought a half share more than a year ago, before the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Goodwood, with the idea of having a Melbourne Cup horse. The horse was then injured and it took a little while to get him back to the top. We are going to think about the Caulfield Cup, but we will have to discuss it all together: there will be people, [and the] rhythm and the distance may prove to be a bit long."