Monarch wins dramatic Grand Prix
Imperial Monarch and Joseph O'Brien
Joseph O'Brien led all the way on Imperial Monarch to take a dramatic renewal of the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.
Badly hampered when well beaten in the French Derby at Chantilly on his last trip abroad, the Aidan O'Brien-trained three-year-old was kept well out of trouble this time as he set the pace in a nine-runner field.
O'Brien junior had to be at his strongest all the way up the straight as he was hard pressed by Andre Fabre's pair Last Train and Saint Baudolino, but he just managed to keep them at bay, and it was David Lanigan's challenger Main Sequence who ran into serious bother this time.
Settled towards the rear by Ted Durcan, the Investec Derby runner-up attempted to make ground in the straight but was hemmed in on the rail before eventually getting clear. Then, as he began to make significant inroads, he was once again left with nowhere to go, finishing fourth.
Imperial Monarch, who landed the Classic Trial at Sandown in April, won by a head, half a length and three-quarters of a length, with the result allowed to stand after a stewards' inquiry.
