Diamond Necklace made to battle in French Oaks Diamond Necklace maintained her unbeaten record and added a second French Classic of the season with a gutsy victory in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly. The Aidan O’Brien-trained filly had to dig deep to fend off the attentions of 50-1 outsider Pink Panthera in the final furlong, winning by a neck. Inis Mor, trained by David Menuisier, came home third. Victory for Diamond Necklace saw her join some racing greats including Zarkava in adding the French Oaks to her Prix Marcel Boussac and French 1,000 Guineas wins. For Ryan Moore it was a first win in the race while the odds-on favourite was giving O’Brien a second following the success of Joan Of Arc in 2021. Moore insisted he was always confident his filly would hold off the attentions of the strong-finishing Pink Panthera once he got Diamond Necklace to the front at the furlong marker. “I never thought we were going to get beat. I think she does what she really needs to do. She is very straightforward and was very professional in everything she has done through the race,” he said. “At the moment we don’t know what she can’t do as she’s answered every question she has ever been asked. She is so straightforward, a great mover and she has handled bad ground in the Guineas and good ground today. “She was very comfortable on it and she might stay further I suppose. But she has pace.” Unwavering Confidence in Classic Triumph Diamond Necklace was continuing Ballydoyle’s near total dominance in the three-year-old Classics in England, Ireland and France with O’Brien training the winners of seven of the 10 run so far. Only Bow Echo, Rayif and Thundering On have denied him a clean sweep of the six Guineas, two Oaks and two Derbys run so far this campaign. O’Brien said: “She’s a very good filly and Ryan gave her an unbelievable ride. “We’re were happy through the race, it was evenly run, Ryan said he’d take his time as she quickens well and he was over the moon. She’s never run on ground that quick but he said it was no problem. “She’s by St Mark’s Basilica and she’s very like her dad, she’s not big but quickens well and he didn’t want further than 10 furlongs so maybe she’ll be the same. “At home in her work when she gets there she doesn’t do much, maybe she doesn’t have to go further. She’s very classy, the sky is the limit. “She’s very similar to St Mark’s and like him, she’s stepped up from two to three.” Ballydoyle Dominance Across Europe Continues Menuisier was thrilled with Inis Mor and said: “She enjoyed a perfect trip. Today we really wanted to assess her true level before deciding on future plans. Oisin (Murphy) feels that with a little rain she might have gone even closer. We were beaten by very good fillies. “We now need to decide whether she remains around 10 furlongs or steps up to a mile and a half. She will stay at Group One level. We’ve always believed she was capable of competing at the highest level, and she confirmed that today. “There are several possibilities. Obviously she won’t run in all of them, but options include the Nassau Stakes, the Prix Jean Romanet, the Yorkshire Oaks, or the Prix Vermeille.”
