GRAPE TREE ROAD, ridden by Thierry Jarnet, came with a great last half-furlong surge to beat Epsom Derby fourth Glory Of Dancer by a short head in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp yesterday.

Paul Kelleway was left very disappointed: "What can you say. He's just got done on the line. Cash (Asmussen) told me he found himself in front just too soon.

Kelleway had looked certain to land his second French Derby following Risk Me's victory in 1987 when the favourite Glory of Dancer shot into the lead inside the final furlong.

Michael Tabor, Grape Tree Road's Monte Carlo based owner watched the race with Kelleway. He said: "From where we stood I thought I'd got beat. I even told Paul I'd settle for a dead heat."

In a desperately rough race the unlucky horse looked to be fourth placed Farasan, who was hemmed in throughout the straight.

His trainer Henry Cecil said: "He just got no sort of run at all did he?" However Cecil clearly remains optimistic about, the colt's future and added: "This is a very good horse and I might run him in the King George next."

However Cecil's disappointment with the way the race went was exacerbated when the stewards subsequently demoted Farasan from fourth to sixth place, and gave John Reid a four-day ban - from July 2nd to 5th - for forcing his way through between Le Triton and Blackwater.

Tab or and Grape Tree Road's trainer Andre Fabre refused to discuss future plans with Tab or commenting only: "I'm just enjoying the moment".

However, Jarnet suffered a quick reverse when taking a hefty fall from Met Mech Nich as the runners left the stalls for the following race, the Prix de Malleret. Geoff Wragg's Oaks third Mezzogiorno was heavily backed but faded in the straight to finish last.

Luca Cumani's Suranom, at 2-1, bounced back from a lacklustre effort at Chester to record his fourth win at San Siro, Milan yesterday.

Enterprisingly ridden by Fernando Jovine, Suranom sailed into a five lengths lead in the Premio Cino del Duca and had enough in reserve to repel old rival, Scribano, by a length and a quarter on a yielding surface.

Marlinga, trained by Lady Herries and ridden by Paul Eddery, ran creditably in the Group Three Grosser Preis der Dortmunder Wirtshaft over nine furlongs at Dortmund to finish third to Devil River Peek at Dortmund.

John Dunlop runs Taipan (Sylvain Guillot) in a Listed Grand Prix over a mile and a half at Lyon-Parilly today.