Vadeni too strong for British raiders with French Derby rout

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The French Derby crown will stay on home soil this year after Vadeni saw off his British rivals in impressive style at Chantilly on Sunday.

Charlie Appleby’s Modern Games was sent off the 9/4 favourite as he went in search of a French Classic double, having landed the Poule d’Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp last month.

William Buick cast aside any concerns about a wide draw by making a fast start out of the stalls and sending Modern Games to the front, tracked closely by James Ferguson’s El Bodegon.

Most of the others struggled to get into contention from a strong-looking pace in the Group One contest, but Jean-Claude Rouget’s Vadeni was switched wide by Christophe Soumillon and soon hit the front, powering away from the rest of the field.

The winner was cut to as short as 5/1 for October’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, behind Epsom Derby winner Desert Crown at 2/1.

Rouget told Sky Sports Racing: “I am happy when a horse is flying like him today. He’s a horse with a lot of class.

“He was quite a poor yearling and he’s improved a lot for his racing. I hope he can have a good summer and autumn.”

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Trainer James Ferguson was thrilled with the efforts of his French Derby runner-up El Bodegon and is excited to see what the future holds

Ferguson was thrilled with the efforts of his horse, telling Sky Sports Racing: “I’ve never been so happy to come second! It’s just so great to see him back on track.

“All credit to the winner, he’s a fantastic winner and was gone. We’ve beaten everyone else so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in the future.”

US trip on the cards for Modern Games

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Trainer Charlie Appleby says stamina let down Modern Games in the French Derby, with a trip to the USA the likely next step

Appleby said: “James’ horse has run very well and full credit to him and his team.

“More importantly for ourselves, we did what we wanted to do. He’s got great speed and William was controlling it how he wanted to control it on the front.

“You could spot the winner a long way out and, at the end of the day, we lost second because we didn’t go through the line, whereas the second horse did.

“We knew the trip would be towards the end of his petrol gauge and, going forward, the likelihood is we’ll probably take him to America for something like the Belmont Derby or the Saratoga Derby.

“Running over 10 [furlongs] or nine and a half on quicker ground is probably his gig.”

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