King George hero Goliath teed himself up for a planned tilt at the Japan Cup with a determined victory in the Prix du Conseil de Paris at ParisLongchamp.
Francis-Henri Graffard’s charge had not been seen in competitive action since his spectacular display at Ascot in late July, when he belied odds of 25/1 to readily account for the subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Bluestocking and last month’s Preis von Europa victor Rebel’s Romance.
As a gelding, Goliath was unable to run in the Arc himself and with connections also deciding against a return to Ascot for the Champion Stakes, the Japan Cup was identified as his big end-of-season target.
Having missed a rematch with Rebel’s Romance in Germany after suffering a minor setback, the four-year-old was rerouted to a Group Two on home soil and was unsurprisingly a warm order in the hands of Christophe Soumillon.
Carrying the colours of John Stewart for the first time after the American owner purchased a significant share from Philip Baron von Ullmann in the wake of his King George triumph, Goliath was settled in third for much of the one-mile-three-furlong journey, with Maniatic and the William Haggas-trained Hamish the two in front of him.
A motionless Soumillon cut a confident figure in the saddle early in the home straight as he looked around for dangers – and while the admirable Hamish refused to go down without a fight and kept the hot favourite honest, Goliath took his measure late on and passed the post a cosy half-length winner.
Graffard told the PA news agency: “I couldn’t be happier with Goliath. The horse needed the race and it’s all part of his preparation for his tilt at the Japan Cup.
“I’m very happy, it was a good run and a good ride from Christophe and the horse will come on a lot.”
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