Friendly Soul Back on Top in Prix Vermeille

Friendly Soul (GB) put a string of bad luck behind her to win the Prix Vermeille (G1) Sept. 6 at Longchamp under a virtuoso front-running ride from James Doyle. The pair held the late charges of Pink Panthera (FR) and Sunly (GB) to add a second group 1 to the one she landed on this track in the Prix de l'Opera (G1) almost two years ago. In between, she missed an entire season with injury and was fortunate not to suffer even greater disaster when putting her foot in the infamous Haydock hole on her return to action this season. After finishing a well-beaten second behind Diamond Necklace on fast ground at Goodwood, John and Thady Gosden elected to supplement Friendly Soul for a first try at 1 1/2 miles, and Doyle showed plenty of confidence in her ability to stay. "She's naturally a pacey runner and she doesn't like to be pulled around too much, so everyone had a good chat," said Doyle. "It wasn't necessarily the plan to lead, just not to fight her too much. "She was brave late on. I was mindful I'd gone a rolling gallop the whole way, so I didn't want to ask too many questions too early on. I tried to sit as long as I could and she responded well when the others came to her." Coral gave Friendly Soul a 16-1 quote for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), an entry she had not previously held but which she gains automatically as a result of Sunday's win. Tom Goff, European racing and breeding adviser to her owner George Strawbridge, said the ground would play a big role in where the homebred daughter of Kingman (GB) would head next. "We'll look at everything," said Goff. "She's in the Opera, she's now in the Arc, and she's also in the Champion Stakes, while we'll also look at the Breeders' Cup. "We'll keep all the options open. She showed at Goodwood she doesn't want to run on rattling firm ground. Today was absolutely perfect, with a good covering of grass. "She doesn't want it like a road, so we'll follow the ground. I'd assume she can run in one or two of those options before the end of the year." Goff paid tribute to the Clarehaven team for bringing the 5-year-old back to top form after a 594-day break, not to mention her Haydock misadventure and a luckless run behind Blue Bolt (IRE) at Royal Ascot. Thady Gosden said: "The last time she was here was when winning the Prix de l'Opera two years ago and she's had a couple of issues since then. It was an incredibly sporting decision by George and Julia Strawbridge to keep her in training. "To see her back to this level is fantastic, and it was her first time over a mile-and-a-half. That's not the traditional way of testing them at the trip, but she took James forward and was tough to the line. "When she won the Prix de l'Opera, she went forward, and I think she must have remembered being here. James gave her a lovely ride and didn't try to fight her. Unfortunately, another filly came to her in the false straight so he couldn't get a breather, but her class saw her through."