German horse Protectionist has booked his ticket to Australia for the Melbourne Cup with his win in the Prix Kergolay in Deauville.
Trained by Andreas Wohler who brought Silvano to the Cox Plate in 2001, Protectionist had just three rivals in the Group Two race over 3000 metres.
Protectionist’s jockey Eduardo Pedroza made his move on the four-year-old at the 300m and the horse cruised to a 1-1/2 length win over Fly With Me.
The Prix Kergorlay emerged as a valuable pointer to the Melbourne Cup in 2010 when Americain won both races.
Protectionist beat his stablemate Singing to win the Group Two Hansa-Preis (2400m) earlier this year with the latter to join the Kris Lees stable in Australia next month after being bought by Australian Bloodstock.