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The Maltese cross defied some bad luck in the race to secure William Haggis’ maiden Grand Prix de Paris crown with a surging finish to complete a British one-two at Paris Longchamp.
Tom Marquand held on in a ride that continuously saw the son of Sea The Stars hit the dead end and looked as if his race was done as Charlie Johnston’s Ancient Egypt Causeway hit the front after a front-running effort was stopped.
Ancient Egypt continued to advance at the three-furlong pole and the fading challenge of the causeway appeared to thwart the Maltese cross which had to close the inside rail.
He was boxed in as the leader set up his marker, but then the first chance finally came late on and an impressive turn of foot saw him squeeze through a gap to advance Ancient Egypt in the final leg to land Bastille Day Group One at 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 outnumbered by his outsider status at 22-1 which was summarily denied.
Mikel Desjangles’ Alam was third, with Varandir, trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, a more head-turning fourth.
Assistant coach Maureen Hagas went through all the emotions after the win in the French capital.
“I thought he did really well, I thought he did incredibly well to win the race from a fairly difficult position and there was a horse outside him who was trying like hell to hold him off,” he told Sky Sports Racing.
“But he likes something to aim for and he’ll jump through a little hole, which he had to do today.
“He’s tough and obviously has a strong will to win, which is one of his biggest qualities. You need that will to win and you need a good horse to get himself out of trouble like that.”
He added: “In many ways, apart from the fact that he won which was obviously the best thing, there were many other things that were really pleasing and we always felt that the best was yet to come.
“He’ll hopefully be a really nice four-year-old. So it was great for him to win the Group One today.”
Owner George Wood said: “That horse delivers time and time again, and he delivers because he has all the power, but he also has such good brains.
“I could see Tom was stuck there on the rail trying to figure out how he was going to get out and Maltese Cross made room for him, he knew what was going on and he made room, and boy did he come fast at the end. Wow!”
He added: “Day two at the Derby was one of the best days of my life and winning Group One is comparable.
“The most disappointing thing about not winning the Derby was that I couldn’t give Sam Haggis, who is William and Maureen’s son and my bloodstock agent, that moment. It would have been amazing for his parents to pull off something like that for their son.”
Johnston was proud of Ancient Egypt as he suffered another narrow defeat in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last month after going a neck to the causeway.
“Above anything else, I’m proud of the horse. Once again he was completely underestimated, overlooked, by people outside the field,” he said.
“The point that Causeway was 9-4 and we were 20-1, I think it’s a lack of respect for this horse and how good he is, and he showed almost everything, just the last step.
“It’s been a great run, I’m very proud of him. He’s shown himself to be a Group One performer.”
