Yoozuna registered his first Listed success with a classy display in the Prix Lyphard at Deauville, France, this afternoon, a Fast-Track Qualifier for the £200,000 Easter Classic.
A dual winner on turf, the three-year-old had twice finished runner-up in this grade for trainer Christophe Ferland, most notably behind Al Hakeem in the Prix de Suresnes at Chantilly in May.
Making his all-weather debut in the extended nine-furlong contest, Yoozuna (9/1) raced in mid-division under Maxime Guyon and caught the eye travelling strongly as the 12 runners turned into the home straight.
German raider Parol stole a few lengths while Yoozuna waited for a seam, but the son of Kizuna made up the ground impressively to lead at the furlong marker and win with something in hand.
Runner-up Dolayli followed the winner through but did not have the same change of gear, going down by a length and a quarter at the line, with Sundoro finishing strongly from last to take third.
Ferland said: “Yoozuna looked good today. He loved the track and the pace of the race really suited him.
“I think he is more of a miler than a long-distance horse, even though today’s race was nine and a half furlongs, as he showed a lot of speed.
“He will probably run two times at Cagnes-sur-Mer over the winter and then the All-Weather Championships at Newcastle would be a good possibility after that.”