Frankie Dettori suffers ‘shocker’ and owner voices ‘concern’ as Verry Elleegant flops badly on European debut

FRANKIE DETTORI came crashing back to earth after his Ebor heroics when Australian wondermare Verry Elleegant flopped badly on her big European debut.

Slowly out the stalls in the 1m2f Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet, the Melbourne Cup winner never got out of last place despite finding a bit of speed late on.

Sent off 12-5 fav under Dettori, questions quickly arose about whether or not she will be suited to her ultimate target: the Arc de Triomphe in October.

A replay of the race posted by At The Races described Dettori as having a ‘shocker’ at Deauville.

While the horse’s owner Brae Sokolski expressed his ‘concern’ at what he had seen.

The multi-millionaire said struck an apologetic tone – but there’s no doubt he expected to see a bit more.

Sokolski, who was delighted to have ‘king’ Dettori in the saddle, and especially after his amazing Ebor win on Trawlerman the day before, said: “I feel you have to forgive her for the run.

“The way the race was run, not one horse passed another as they went so slow early, and this left Verry Elleegant with no hope.

“But Verry Elleegant, against that field, I would still have expected her to pass a couple and finish closer.

“So we have to acknowledge she was not at her top but there were enough extenuating circumstances to say it wasn’t a complete failure.

“I think we have to put a line through the run and give her another opportunity.

“She was struggling to keep in touch with the second last horse early.

“I was more concerned with her first furlong than the last because it looked like a symptom of the environment where she is doing a lot of long, slow work and being trained like a stayer.”

The horse’s new trainer Francis-Henri Graffard added: “The result isn’t a good one, but as a trainer I’m happy with her return effort,’’ Graffard said.

“As Frankie told me, she’s a bit rusty. The track didn’t suit her.”

Verry Elleegant’s next race is the Prix Vermeille on September 11.

The mare has won more than £8million in her career and still needs to be supplemented for Arc on October 2, where Titleholder is the general 5-1 favourite.

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