Brave when second in compromising conditions in the Derby, Maltese Cross (Sea The Stars) showed a different kind of courage on Tuesday evening to land ParisLongchamp’s feature G1 Cygames Grand Prix de Paris.
Further back than expected in the early stages, George Waud’s pride and joy had to fight his way through the pack up the home straight but gave his all for Tom Marquand to thrust late and deny compatriot Ancient Egypt (Frankel) by a head for a TDN Rising Star one-two. There was a neck back to the best of the French, Al Shaqab’s Alam (Zelzal), in third who in turn had a head to spare over the 13-5 favourite Varandir (Zarak) in fourth.
“It was an awesome performance–he was super-tough to get through the gap, as there wasn’t much space,” Marquand said of the William Haggas-trained 14-5 second favourite. “It’s a big day in France and it’s great to win this, it’s an awesome piece of training by the team.”
“I probably found myself one position farther back than I had expected, which then meant I had to look for a gap,” he added. “He was a little slow to respond when it was time to quicken, so I couldn’t move up ahead of the horse on his outside as I would have liked. In the end, I went through the middle, which suited him perfectly, even though it made things a little tight. He is a genuinely top-class horse and certainly has no shortage of speed over 2,400 metres.”
Maltese Cross looked one of the best of the home-trained contingent heading to the Derby, having taken Newbury’s key 10-furlong novice in April which has a history of producing future stars and having followed up in the Lingfield Derby Trial. Haggas had been concerned about the state of the ground before the Blue Riband and it may ultimately have been his colt’s innate fight that got him ahead of everything bar Christmas Day there.
Given time to rest and recover with this target in mind, he was handed the one stall which looked a blessing but quickly became a hindrance as he was snared behind with Causeway (Wootton Bassett) surprisingly pressing on ahead. By halfway, he had only one behind and was needing luck which wasn’t coming his way after straightening for home as Alam was holding him in a pocket. Muscling between Varandir and Ancient Egypt in the dying strides, he carved out a final time of 2:24.79 which is the third-best in the race since it was transformed in 2005 when Scorpion set the record.
George Waud said, “Time and time again, he delivers because he has all the ability but also such a good brain. He knew what was going on and he made the space for Tom. Second in the Derby was one of the best days of my life, but winning a Group 1 is comparable.”
Maureen Haggas said, “I thought he did unbelievably well to win from a difficult position. He does like something to aim at and he’s tough and has a strong will-to-win, which is one of his greatest attributes. Tom said it was messy, but he can squirm through those gaps. It’s the first time he’s travelled and he’s taken the whole experience in his stride and was very cool tonight even though it was hot. We always felt he’d be a very nice four-year-old and that the best was yet to come, so there are a lot of positive things to take out of this.”
For Charlie Johnston, the outcome was the second time in quick succession that Ancient Egypt had come off worse in a tight finish and the disappointment was palpable. “I’m proud of the horse and he was once again underestimated–Causeway was 9-4 and we were 20-1 this morning and that’s a lack of respect for the horse and how good he is,” he said. “He nearly showed them. When he kicked two down, I couldn’t see anything making substantial headway, then when Varandir came at him I thought he might be third or fourth but he’s unbelievably tough and very nearly fought them all off.”
“Given his pedigree and his stallion potential, the team are keen to keep at this trip going forward and quite what the next move is, I’m not sure,” he added. “We’ve campaigned him hard, but he’s got better with every race and looked a million dollars in the paddock today. He’s a very good mile-and-a-half horse on fast ground and those are his conditions. I know Kia is quite keen on the Champion at the end of the season, but my reservation would be that ground at that time of year. He might like the Breeders’ Cup, so we could give him a break and prepare for that–we’ll see.”
Mikel Delzangles said of Alam, “Pierre-Charles Boudot told me he was very pleased with him, that he had behaved well, but that he was still a bit sluggish at the start. He didn’t give in, he continued his effort to the end. Personally, before the race, I thought he was better than before the Prix du Jockey Club, more mature, and he still needs to improve. I don’t think we’ll see him again this summer. He will probably be aiming for the [Sept. 6 G2] Qatar Prix Niel.”
MALTESE CROSS WINS THE CYGAMES GRAND PRIX DE PARIS! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/RV8QeYTvzl
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 14, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Maltese Cross is the third foal out of Nabatea (Camelot), whose first was the Listed-placed Namouria (Adlerflug). She is a half-sister to the Deutsches Derby-winning sire Nutan (Duke Of Marmalade) and the Grosser Preis von Berlin heroine Nymphea (Dylan Thomas), as well as the Group 3-winning Prix Jean Romanet third Navaro Girl (Holy Roman Emperor). One of her other two half-siblings with black-type is the Listed scorer Nazbanou (High Chaparral), whose two Stakes winners include the Grosser Preis von Berlin runner-up Nerik (Ruler Of The World).
The third dam Night Teeny (Platini) produced the Oaks d’Italia heroine Night Of Magic (Peintre Celebre) and is the ancestress of the dual Preis von Europa heroine Nightflower also by Dylan Thomas, another Oaks d’Italia winner in Nachtrose (Australia) and the Prix Jean Prat hero Intellogent (Intello). The family also features the Preis der Diana heroine Night Petticoat (Petoski) and her Deutsches Derby-winning son Next Desert (Desert Style) and Preis der Diana-winning daughter Next Gina (Perugino). Nabatea’s two-year-old colt Prince Of Petra (Persian King) was a €65,000 purchase by Jeremy Brummitt for Quantum Leap Racing at last year’s Arqana Deauville August Sale.
Tuesday, ParisLongchamp, France
CYGAMES GRAND PRIX DE PARIS-G1, €600,000, ParisLongchamp, 7-14, 3yo, c/f, 12fT, 2:24.79, g/s.
1–MALTESE CROSS (FR), 128, c, 3, by Sea The Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Nabatea (Ger), by Camelot (GB)
2nd Dam: Neele (Ire), by Peintre Celebre
3rd Dam: Night Teeny (GB), by Platini (Ger)
TDN Rising Star. 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (€200,000 Wlg ’23 ARQDEN; 350,000gns Ylg ’24 TATOCT). O-George Waud; B-Ecurie du Sud & Ecurie Gribomont; T-William Haggas; J-Tom Marquand. €342,840. Lifetime Record: SW & G1SP-Eng, 6-4-2-0, €878,821. *1/2 to Namouria (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}), SP-Ger. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Ancient Egypt (Ire), 128, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Atone (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB). TDN Rising Star. 1ST GROUP BLACK 1 TYPE. (1,100,000gns Ylg ’24 TATOCT). O-Amo Racing Ltd; B-Yulong Investments (Australia) Pty; T-Charlie Johnston. €137,160.
3–Alam (Fr), 128, c, 3, Zelzal (Fr)–Katara (Fr), by Deep Impact (Jpn). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Al Shaqab Racing; T-Mikel Delzangles. €68,580.
Margins: HD, NK, HD. Odds: 2.80, 22.00, 7.80.
Also Ran: Varandir (Fr), Space Waltz, Limestone (Ire), Causeway (Ire).