The two-year-old bay colt by Churchill was supported in the betting prior to the race with a good pedigree on paper and with the trainer, Jean-Claude Rouget in great form (operating at a 32% winning strike rate in his last 50 runners). There was a lot to like before the race.  

With all eight runners having no racetrack experience, the start of the contest was crucial to get an early indication of ability. The Aga Khan owned two-year-old looked very professional breaking on terms and showed early pace despite being drawn widest.  

Jockey, Jean-Bernard Eyquem held onto the son of Churchill and allowed him to settle at the back, last of the eight, ten lengths behind the leader, Loubeisien. At halfway when negotiating the home turn, the winner was still in last position but appeared to be travelling evenly with 400m to travel. The jockey was patient and just waited before asking questions. He then switched the debutante to the outside so he could see daylight and gain confidence.  

Quickly, Vadeni was making up the ground and moved into fifth with 300m left to go. As he continued, his stride was increasing and finished off strongly to overtake all rivals. The jockey only pushed the colt out to the line, and he appeared to have plenty left in the tank when strolling past the winning post. The official distance did not reflect what is likely to come from him in the future. Jean-Bernard Eyquem never used the whip, and it is likely there is plenty of improvement potential as he gains more racing experience. 

European Champion two-year-old of his year and dual Guineas' winner, Churchill was a two-time Group One winner at two and is by the late-great Galileo. With this eye-catching pedigree, this colt is one for the notebook as trained by one of the top trainers, Jean-Claude Rouget. With progress likely it will be very interesting where Vadeni heads too in the future.