Gleneagles loses Lacardere after enquiry Gleneagles' winning run came to a dramatic end at Longchamp as the stewards demoted him to third after he passed the post in front in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. The Aidan O'Brien-trained son of Galileo swept through to lead but then veered to his right and tightened up Full Mast and Territories on his inside as Joseph O'Brien tried to keep him straight. The stewards, who on Saturday threw out Cirrus Des Aigles after he 'won' the Prix Dollar, deemed there had been interference and the Irish juvenile lost the prize. Gleneagles, winner of the National Stakes at the Curragh last time, was a 9-4 shot for his Paris assignment, with John Quinn's unbeaten colt The Wow Signal heading the market at 7-4. The favourite was quickly in front but was a spent force halfway up the straight and eventually finished tailed off. The main French hope, Criquette Head-Maarek's Full Mast (11-2), moved up menacingly under Thierry Tulliez, but Gleneagles looked to have his measure as he went past, before the drama unfolded with the winning post fast approaching. The second Ballydoyle contender, War Envoy, was not beaten far, and neither was Hugo Palmer's Aktabantay. Head-Maarek said: "That's racing, one horse didn't run straight, he bumped one horse and he bumped another one. Sometimes you need a bit of luck. Mine is still very green and he'll be a very good three-year-old. I have to talk to the owners, but I'd think he'll stop now and wait for next year." Owner Khalid Abdullah's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe added: "He's a smashing looking horse, he's still quite immature mentally and physically. Obviously we would have preferred to win the race outright, but that's the way it is. That will be it now for the season." Michael Tabor, part-owner of Gleneagles, said: "I remember that we kept the Arc with Dylan Thomas (following a lengthy inquiry in 2007) and in all honesty I'd rather have kept that one than kept this. "There are different rules in France, and when you are in France you need to abide by their rules. That's how it is. It would be better if they were more uniform, but rules are rules." O'Brien snr said: "Joseph said he didn't think he touched the other horse, and that it happened very late. He'd gone by the second at the time, but he is a horse who after quickening up well doesn't do a lot when he gets there." The jockey was given a six-day ban by the local stewards. Quinn felt it was one race too many for The Wow Signal. He said: "He's been on the go a long time, he was a bit flat, and they went no pace. He was in the perfect position, so it was very disappointing. But having said that, he's won a Coventry and he has won a Morny. He deserves a break." Burnt Sugar ran a big race for the Richard Hannon team in fourth, although his future his unclear. The trainer said: "He was sold to the China Horse Club last night, so I'm not sure what they are going to do with him. I believe he's going to Singapore so I'll have to try to talk them out of it! He's run a very good race."
