Intello takes French Derby The well-backed favourite Intello eased home to record a comfortable success in the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly. The Andre Fabre trained colt had been backed almost to the exclusion of everything else in the 19 strong field following an eyecatching run in defeat in the Poulains (French Guineas). The son of Galileo would surely have gone close in the Longchamp Classic with a clear run but there were no such problems for him on Sunday as he stepped up a quarter of a mile in trip. He broke well for Olivier Peslier who was able to settle his mount in fourth, albeit a little wide, as Jim Bolger's Beyond Thankful set out to make it a decent gallop. Peslier soon had Intello tucked in on the rail in third and he was able to ease his mount out in the straight and the Feilden Stakes winner picked up impressively when given the office. The pair had no trouble in seeing off the challenge of stablemate Sky Hunter who was passed for second close home by Morandi as the leading fancies dominated. It was a third French Derby success for Fabre in a race where the British and Irish raiders failed to make a serious impact, with Ann Duffield's Yorkshire hope Willie The Whipper faring best of the raiding party in sixth. Jim Bolger's Loch Garman was well beaten, as was Andrew Oliver's First Cornerstone in the hands of Frankie Dettori having had quite a rough passage. Peslier said: "He is a very good horse who has stamina and speed. The race went as planned, I positioned him where I wanted to and he quickened nicely when I asked him. "Considering what he beat at Newmarket (in the Feilden Stakes, where Newmarket 2000 Guineas second Glory Awaits was third) he certainly is one of the best three-year-olds around, if not the best three-year-old. "I think will stay a mile and a half, but don't forget there is a lot of speed on his dam's side. "I didn't ride him in the French 2000 Guineas because I thought that Anodin, who is a more difficult horse to ride than Intello, would have more speed. "Intello did extremely well in the French Guineas from a bad draw. He is a very easy horse to ride and I think he has a great future." Bolger said of Loch Garman: "It didn't happen today. He got a number of cuts, so I have to look after that and he will be off for a while." His rider Kevin Manning said: "He never travelled. It was disappointing. He just never gave me the same feel he usually gives me." Hayley Turner made history by becoming the first lady to have a ride in the race, finishing 13th on the Jo Hughes-trained Glacial Age. Turner said: "We had a bad draw and it didn't suit him at all to be ridden like that."
