The Secret’s Out

The Stephane Wattel-trained Best Secret stamped his credentials for Royal Ascot with an emphatic win over G1 Dubai Sheema Classic runner-up West Wind Blows in the G3 Prix d’Hedouville at Longchamp on Sunday.

The winner of two decent handicaps last year in Paris and at the Qatar Goodwood Festival in July, Best Secret had rounded off his 2025 campaign with victory in Saint-Cloud’s Listed Prix Turenne last September. 

After a first-up run this year in the G2 Prix d’Harcourt, in which he was sixth, the four-year-old was much sharper for this second run of the year under Christophe Soumillon and posted an impressive penultimate furlong of 11.22 in testing conditions. 

Soumillon said, “The ground suited us today and the pace. We followed those horses easily and he won like a really good horse able to win better races. He will improve a lot from this and when it gets soft like today, he can win a Group 2 or even a Group 1.”

The statuesque Best Secret will now be aimed at the G2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.