Miss France wins 1,000 Guineas but Kieren Fallon steals Derby spotlight

Miss France and Maxime Guyon, in pale blue sleeves, winning the Qipco 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket. Photograph: Matthew Webb/Rex

André Fabre completed the set of English Classics on the Rowley Mile here on Sunday as Miss France took the 1,000 Guineas ahead of Lightning Thunder and Ihtimal, but it was Kieren Fallon who emerged from Guineas weekend as the biggest winner, and with another high-profile engagement to anticipate as the Flat season moves on towards Epsom.

Fallon, who won the 2,000 Guineas on Night Of Thunder on Saturday took a minor race on Elite Gardens for Godolphin's Saeed bin Suroor, and the trainer later confirmed that Fallon will take over from Silvestre de Sousa on True Story, a live contender for the Derby, when he runs in the Dante Stakes at York next week.

"Kieren is one of the best jockeys," Suroor said after Elite Gardens' victory. "I'm happy to give him a chance in all the big races. He rode True Story today on the gallops and he gave me good information. He's going to ride him in the Dante."

De Sousa has been Suroor's principal jockey since Frankie Dettori lost his job as Godolphin's No1 rider in the autumn of 2012, and he rode the trainer's African Story to win the Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race, in March. He also rode True Story to an impressive success in the Fielden Stakes at Newmarket's Craven meeting in April, but the news that Fallon will replace him in the Dante suggests that Godolphin are already thinking two steps ahead to Epsom, and want to secure a jockey whose record at the demanding downland track is second to none.

It also suggests that De Sousa can no longer be sure of the ride on Suroor's main contender for a major race. While Godolphin has adopted a loose structure with regard to riding arrangements since Dettori's departure, with no overall No1 jockey, Fallon has quickly become a significant part of Suroor's operation and now seems to be the rider among the Godolphin team whose star is on the ascendant.

Fallon has won the Derby four times, and has talked in the past of an affinity he feels for the track as similar to that of Dettori's love for Ascot. The likelihood that he will be aboard True Story at Epsom to attract the attention of punters.

Miss France, an impressive winner of the Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket last season, was the winter favourite for the 1,000 Guineas but could finish only sixth on her seasonal debut last month. Sent off at 7-1 on Sunday, she appreciated a stronger pace in the Classic and took the lead about a furlong out under Maxime Guyon before holding the late charge of Lightning Thunder by a neck. Ihtimal, trained by Suroor and ridden by De Sousa, was third.

"It was the exact opposite of the way I wanted [her to] be ridden, but it worked," Fabre said. "[Her seasonal debut] was not a race, anything but a race. I was waiting for her morning work [afterwards] and I got very confident when she worked very well in the morning. She will go further, it's not a problem and she will go for the Prix de Diane [French Oaks]."

Asked whether he was pleased to have completed a full set of all five English Classics, Fabre said: "It doesn't mean anything, it's just another racing day. I'm just happy and it's a solved problem."

A significant contender for the Oaks at Epsom in early June emerged in the Pretty Polly Stakes as Taghrooda, already prominent in the ante-post betting following her maiden success here last season, stormed six lengths clear of her field and is now top-priced at 3-1 for the Classic on 6 June.

"She wants a mile and a half now," John Gosden said, and Taghrooda will go straight to Epsom. "We can always take her to Epsom and have a look around as they have an open day," Gosden added, "and her father [Sea The Stars] got around there no problem."