Verry Elleegant may have finished last in a field of eight in her French debut at Deauville, but part-owner Brae Sokolski isn’t prepared to “throw the baby out with the bath water” and instead giving the 11-time Group 1 winner another run in September.
The Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet (2000m) was taken out by the Richard Hannon Jnr-trained Aristia ($6) with Verry Elleegant ($3) 4-¾ lengths adrift.
A date at Longchamp on September 11 in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille over 2400 metres is the likely next test for the seven-year-old mare.
“It is fair to say we’re all a bit deflated,” Sokolski told RSN.
“Everything was on song for her to perform well but at the end of the day, whilst there were excuses, she did run last and she wasn’t the Verry Elleegant that we’ve come to expect.
“But there is enough to justify giving her another opportunity and the Prix Vermeille in three weeks is going to be D-Day, and we’ll want to be seeing a more characteristic performance from her.”
Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard indicated that he was satisfied with Verry Elleegant’s outing and noted ‘rustiness’ and an unsuitable track as factors against her.
Racing & Sports’ expert Adam Blencowe says that as far as making a judgment, this edition of the Prix Jean Romanet shouldn’t carry as much emphasis as the visuals would suggest.
“Conservative tactics, which viewed in the context of trying to win the Romanet could be described as poor tactics, and left Verry Elleegant facing a task for which she was never going to be suited,” Adam said.
“The race was slow until it quickened sharply with Verry Elleegant asked to make her move at that point; the worst point.
“The pace scenario resulted in a messy finish and a poor race on which to hang a strong opinion. “Judgement is best reserved, but one thing is for sure, years of good work were hardly undone in a tick over two minutes under uninspiring tactics.”