Chantilly cruise for Lope De Vega

Slipping the field early in the straight in the hands of Maxime Guyon, the Andre Fabre-trained colt quickly pulled several lengths clear.

None of his rivals got near enough to put in a challenge and he won easily from Planteur.

The winner was the last of the 22 runners to enter the stalls but he was smartly away as Vive Libre set the pace for Planteur, the Elie Lellouche first string. Ryan Moore, bidding to follow up his Epsom triumph on Workforce, had his mount Ice Blue handy while Brian Meehan's Dancing David and the Aidan O'Brien-trained pair of Viscount Nelson and Cape Blanco were also well placed.

However, it was a one-horse race once Lope de Vega hit the front as Vivre Libre had cried enough on the turn for home. Frankie Dettori was third on the Nicolas Clement-trained Pain Perdu.

Fabre said: "He is an excitable kind of horse, so I don't want to travel him too far, but if he stays in training as a four-year-old – and there is a strong possibility that he will – he could then possibly have a race in England."

Guyon added: "I have ridden some very good horses, but this horse is special as he has won over seven furlongs, a mile and a mile-and-a- quarter. I don't know where he will stop."

Later on the card, Allied Powers gave Michael Bell his 1,000th training success in the Grand Prix de Chantilly, but connections had to survive a stewards' inquiry. Relishing the soft ground, the five-year-old came from last to register the landmark triumph.

Bell said: "That is our 1,000th winner and it is a nice way to do it."