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Carlos Laffon-Parias’ stable star lifts Group One honours

Recoletos swooped in the final strides to land the Group One Prix du Moulin at ParisLongchamp.

Carlos Laffon-Parias’ charge finished second to star three-year-old Alpha Centauri last time out and he stepped up on that to land the second top-level victory of his career in this mile heat.

Olivier Peslier took a restrained approach aboard the winner as Wootton and Recoletos’ stablemate Oriental dominated the early exchanges, but it was Plumatic who struck for home first.

He soon found himself challenged by fellow Andre Fabre-trained runner Wind Chimes, but Recoletos was unleashing his run latest of all down the middle of the track.

Peslier produced him with his perfectly-timed challenge to just get up on the line from Wind Chimes, with Sir Michael Stoute’s Expert Eye grabbing third on the line.

Fellow British runners Lightning Spear and Without Parole finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Laffon-Parias told At The Races: “Olivier is the best. I think when you get Olivier, it’s a guarantee.

“It was a really good Group One race today with firm ground, but that was better because we always say the winner only ran on soft ground, so he’s proved he likes firm. All his best races have been on good ground.

“He will go to Ascot, probably for the QEII, on Champions Day. We will stay at the mile and then maybe the Breeders’ Cup, that’s normally the programme.”