Merveilleux Lapin
Merveilleux Lapin stayed on well to finish third in the 10-furlong handicap at Newbury last Saturday. Settled back in the field early on by Callum Rodriguez, and a little keener than ideal, she had a wide enough trip throughout from stall 12, but she still travelled nicely into the home straight. Moved towards the outside and into clear sailing on the run to the two-furlong marker, she stayed on well from that point. She fought her corner well as Old Harrovian moved up on her outside and she stayed on strongly all the way to the line to take third place, closest at the finish and just over a length behind the progressive winner Balzac.
Owen Burrows' filly is progressive herself. She was well back in the field here in a race in which the two horses who finished in front of her were in the first four from early, and she was fastest of all through the final three furlongs. She hasn't managed to win yet in Britain, but she has been knocking on the door. A winner over a mile and a half on officially soft ground in Poland last year, and second in a listed race at Longchamp on very soft ground over 10 and a half furlongs, she ran well too in a good 12-furlong handicap at Ascot in July to finish third behind Al Azd. She is proven on soft ground, and she could do even better if she steps back up to a mile and a half before the end of the season.
Newbury, 19th September 2026
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