📍 Chantilly, 2100m – Good to soft ground
⏱️ Final time: 2’06”57, ranking among the Top 15 fastest times in the history of the Diane.
But on this June 15th, beyond the stopwatch, it was the trajectories, positioning, and race intelligence that made all the difference. At the start, five fillies had a legitimate claim to the crown. Yet only one executed her race to perfection: GEZORA.
🎯 This 2025 Prix de Diane Longines was not won by raw talent alone—it was won through strategy.
🎼 Winning Means Reading the Race: Gezora, the Master Conductor
She wore saddlecloth #1 – a notoriously tricky draw at Chantilly, where tired horses ahead can box you in.
🐎 And yet, without rushing, Gezora broke smartly and settled into the second lane after the first 10 seconds. A perfect placement: neither too aggressive, nor too cautious.
👨✈️ C. Soumillon turned what could have been a tactical trap into a position full of options.
📏 At 600 meters from the finish, she sat just 8.42 meters behind the leader Merilly, still tucked away behind cover.
🧠 The key moment: finding a gap without wasting her energy. She timed it perfectly.
🚀 Her final 600 meters were clocked in 34.74 seconds, with a blistering last 400 meters in 22.79.
💡 It’s in that gradual, perfectly timed acceleration that she took control of this tactical race.
🏇 GEZORA | ⚡ Max speed: 67.61 km/h | ⏱️ Duration: 0.30 s | 📍 Location: 305.55 m
🛏️ Bedtime Story: The Best Finisher… But Not the Smartest Strategist
⛔ Drawn stall #12 – the worst possible gate.
📊 The plan was clear: wait at the back, let Merilly do the hard work as pacemaker, then unleash in the home stretch.
📉 At 600m from the post, she was still 13.46 meters off the lead—but her finish was exceptional:
🏁 Best final 600m of the race in 34.53 seconds, final 400m in 22.86.
❌ The problem: she drew level with Gezora at 200m… but her earlier effort cost her dearly.
🥈 Gezora kicked on again. A fine second place, but with a passive strategy, victory was never in reach.
🏇 BEDTIME STORY | ⚡ Max speed: 66.38 km/h | ⏱️ Duration: 0.30 s | 📍 Location: 374.04 m
🥀 Mandanaba: One Stall Number, and It All Unravels
🎲 Drawn in stall #10, she found herself three-wide without cover just 30 seconds into the race.
🚧 Forced into the unlikely role of pacesetter for stablemate Cankoura, she paid the price for this early, unwanted effort.
😲 And yet—she was still in front with 100 meters to go!
⚡ Her burst from the 400m to 200m mark was remarkable: 11.52 seconds.
💔 She finished 4th, heartbroken, undone by poor initial positioning.
🏇 MANDANABA | ⚡ Max speed: 65.09 km/h | ⏱️ Duration: 0.10 s | 📍 Location: 1883.30 m
🧠 Cankoura: The Intelligence of a Hidden Ride
🔢 Drawn stall #11—another tough gate.
🍀 And yet, Cankoura got a dream trip, perfectly covered behind the right wheels.
🔥 Less explosive than the top two, she still finished 3rd thanks to flawless rhythm and maximum energy conservation.
✅ Exactly what you expect from a filly given a clever ride.
🧾 Conclusion: The Prix de Diane Longines – A Sport of High Performance and Foresight
📉 The data speaks for itself: nothing is left to chance.
In a race where five fillies had the class to win, it was:
-
the reading of the race
-
the positioning
-
the conservation of ground
-
and the perfect timing of the sprint
…that made the difference. 🧠💥
🎯 Horse racing is no roulette game. It’s the science of movement—a delicate balance of art and data.
🏇 The 2025 Prix de Diane Longines proved it.
