Record third win for Marchand D'Or at Deauville Marchand D'Or made racing history at Deauville yesterday afternoon by becoming the first horse to win the Prix Maurice de Gheest three times. Five horses have won the Group One sprint twice before including Boitron in 1979 and 1980, but no other horse had gone on to make it three. Sent off the 5-4 favourite following his July Cup triumph at Newmarket last month, Marchand D'Or travelled ominously well towards the rear of the field but was trapped behind a wall of horses. But once the gap came, the response was electric as Davy Bonilla's mount flew through to take up the lead from African Rose and score a shade cosily. 'I was a little bit worried when he was trapped but this can happen in racing,' said delighted winning trainer Freddie Head, also successful in the race as a jockey on Anabaa in 1996. 'It was a long way from home and I knew that once he got out, he would just stride out to the line. 'It is great he is now in the record books as he is a real champion.' Head is keen to let his stable star have another crack at the Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock, a race he was second in 12 months ago. 'I think he will go to Haydock next and then the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp on Arc day will be his target after that,' Head added.
