Karakontie triumphant in hard-fought Lagardere

Karakontie had to fight a grim battle with Spanish raider Noozhoh Canarias to win the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at the Longchamp on Sunday.

The Group I race for two-year-olds, run over seven furlongs, carried a purse of Euros 350,000 and was sponsored by Al Emadi Enterprises.

For trainer Jonathan Pease and jockey Stephane Pasquier. The Spanish horse, undefeated in all three starts, was extremely keen early and shot straight to the front, but proved unexpectedly resilient when the Jonathan Pease trained Karakontie displayed a brilliant turn of foot in the final stages of the race. Jockey Stephane Pasquier rode a well judged race on the winner.
“He had to grind it out and I thought he had a bit more brilliance but he got the job done,” said Pease.
Pasquier was impressed with Karakontie’s performance : “He’s a horse who I have always believed in and today was perfect with a good draw. My job was only to find my way out and he did it very easily.”