Brian Meehan's Arcano got the better of hot favourite Canford Cliffs to take the Group One Darley Prix Morny at Deauville on Sunday.
Meehan strikes gold at Deauville for new owner
Brian Meehan's Arcano got the better of fellow cross-channel raider and hot favourite Canford Cliffs to win the Darley Prix Morny at Deauville on Sunday.
The July Stakes winner settled at the rear under Richard Hills but picked up strongly when the jockey made his move to edge out Special Duty on the line.
Canford Cliffs could not find the electric burst of speed that he showed in the Coventry Stakes and was forced to settle for minor honours in third.
Meehan said he was delighted with colt's performance, having his first run since being bought by Hamdan Al Maktoum.
"I'm so pleased to win for my new owner," said Meehan. "It's marvellous to do the job for him and I've only been training for him for a few weeks and his whole team have been fantastic.
"Canford Cliffs has been very prolific this season and raced on his own towards the finish.
Improvement
"My horse is still a baby and there is masses of improvement still to come.
"All options are open to him and we'll discuss where we go with his connections, but he does want to go further.
"He's entitled to be Guineas favourite now and getting a mile will not be an issue. Every time he races he wants to go further and further."
Hills added: "He's a great addition to the team. I'd only ridden him in one piece of work before this and he gave me a nice feel.
"Martin Dwyer had ridden him in his two previous races, he's a good judge and was quite confident about the horse coming here.
"I thought he was good enough to win a big race and while I wasn't sure it would be this one, I thought he was well worth being here."
Dewhurst
Angus Gold, racing manager for owner Hamdan Al Maktoum, paid tribute to the Manton handler and said that a step up in distance would be on the cards for the two-year-old.
"Full credit to Brian Meehan and his team at Manton - they take all of the credit for this," he said
"Martin Dwyer, Brian and all of the team have always thought he wants seven furlongs.
"Richard said he was babyish during the race, was caught flat-footed and won the race by staying.
"I think we'll be going seven furlongs next time, rather than staying at six furlongs, and we'll have to see what happens between now and then.
"But I imagine Sheikh Hamdan would love to see him win the Dewhurst and it's great to see him win a Group One over six furlongs."
