Maltese Cross somehow defied bad luck in running to secure William Haggas’ first Grand Prix de Paris crown with a surging finish to complete a British one-two at ParisLongchamp.
Tom Marquand remained patient in a ride which continuously saw the son of Sea The Stars hit dead ends and it looked as though his race had been run as Charlie Johnston’s Ancient Egypt hit the front after Causeway’s front-running effort peeled off.
Ancient Egypt continued to stride on at the three-furlong pole and Causeway’s fading challenge appeared to hinder Maltese Cross who had to switch off the inside rail.
He was boxed in as the leader laid down his marker, but then the first opportunity finally came late on and an impressive turn of foot saw him squeeze through a gap to head Ancient Egypt in the final strides to land the Bastille Day Group One at a price of 14-5.
The victory marked the first British success in this race since Hurricane Lane for Charlie Appleby in 2021, with Johnston’s charge clearly outrunning his outsider status at 22-1 to be narrowly denied.
Mikel Dezangles’ Alam was a neck back in third, with Varandir, trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, a further head adrift in fourth.
Assistant trainer Maureen Haggas went through all the emotions after victory in the French capital.
“I thought he did really well, I thought he did unbelievably well to win the race from a fairly difficult position and he had a horse on his outside who was trying like hell to keep him in,” she told Sky Sports Racing.
“But he does like something to aim at and he will squirm through a little hole, which he had to do today.
“He’s tough and obviously got a really strong will to win, which is one of his greatest attributes. You need that will to win and you need a good horse to get themselves out of that type of trouble.”
She added: “In a lot of ways, apart from the fact he won which was obviously the best thing, there are lots other things that were really pleasing and we always felt that the best was yet to come.
“He’s going to be, hopefully, a really nice four-year-old. So for him to win a Group One today was fantastic.”
Owner George Waud said: “That horse just time and time again delivers, and he delivers because he’s got all the ability, but he’s also got such a good brain.
“I could see Tom stuck on the rail there and trying to figure out how he was going to get out and Maltese Cross made the space for him, he knew what was going on and he made the space, and boy did he come quick at the end. Wow!”
He added: “Second in the Derby was one of the best days of my life and winning a Group One is comparable.
“The most disappointing thing about not winning the Derby was that I couldn’t give Sam Haggas, who is William and Maureen’s son and my bloodstock agent, that moment. For his parents to have their son pull off something like that would have been amazing.”
Johnston was proud of Ancient Egypt as he suffered another narrow defeat after going down by a neck to Causeway in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last month.
“Above anything else, I’m proud of the horse. Once again he was completely underestimated, overlooked, outsider of the field,” he said.
“The point that Causeway was 9-4 and we were 20-1, I think that’s a lack of respect for this horse and how good he is, and he nearly showed them all, just the last stride.
“It was fantastic run, I’m very proud of him. He showed himself very much a Group One performer.”
