Both Group 1 races on Sunday’s big meeting at Deauville went the way of Irish-breds with bargain buy from Tattersalls Ireland’s September Yearling Sale UNFORTUNATELY (IRE) and trainer Karl Burke stealing the show in the Group 1 Prix Morny for juveniles. Burke prepared the first two past the post in the prestigious six-furlong event and it was the Middleham trainer who signed for UNFORTUNATELY (IRE) at a cost of just €24,000 just short of a year ago. Little wonder the hardy bay graces the front cover of the catalogue for next month’s sale at Fairyhouse.

By the late Society Rock (IRE) and bred by Tally Ho Stud in County Westmeath where that sire stood, UNFORTUNATELY (IRE) has won three of his six starts and his Group 1 breakthrough came on the back of a Group 2 success in the Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte. His dam, Unfortunate (IRE) has raised four other individual winners to win a total of 29 races, headed by Look Busy (IRE) who counted a couple of Listed wins the high points among a career that counted 12 victories. Burke said UNFORTUNATELY (IRE) would be kept for the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes on September 30th at Newmarket.

AJMAN PRINCESS (IRE) was the other Irish-bred showstopper on the Normandy coast as she won the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet for fillies and mares sponsored by her breeders, Darley. Sired by Kildangan Stud’s Teofilo (IRE), she carried the yellow colours of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid and benefitted from a positive ride from Andrea Atzeni, making all to score by over a length. AJMAN PRINCESS (IRE) holds entries in the Prix de l’Opera on Arc Day and the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes on October 21st.

It was a good weekend all told for Teofilo (IRE) who had last year’s 2,000 Guineas runner-up MASSAAT (IRE) make a winning return to the track after a year’s absence in the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

The theme of IRE-sourced winners has been a feature of the Deauville meeting and on Friday, BAY OF POETS (IRE) kept it going with a stylish success in the Listed Prix Pelleas over nine furlongs. The latter is by Ballylinch Stud’s Lope De Vega and was sold from their draft at the Goffs Foal auction of 2014 for €190,000.