Natagora (right) held on to win by half-a-length from Spacious (left)

Natagora made all the running to win the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

The 11-4 favourite, trained in France by Pascal Bary and ridden by Christophe Lemaire, was out of the stalls sharply to set the pace, with Muthabara second.

Muthabara faded but Natagora held on to win by half-a-length from Spacious, with Saoirse Abu finishing third.

Nahoodh was travelling beautifully late on but was trapped behind the leaders and found herself unable to mount a proper challenge.

Winning rider Christophe Lemaire said: "I can't believe it. I had so much confidence, the only thing for me was to try to get a good position without using too much energy. She gave all she had and is a fantastic filly."

Bary suffered heartbreak in the 2003 edition of the race when Six Perfections found all sorts of trouble and covered most of the Rowley Mile before flashing home just too late to collar Russian Rhythm.

But this time Natagora was never headed and an elated Bary said: "She has done something fantastic. They all came to her, but she ran to the end.

"She is a fantastic filly. I have dreamed about this since last October. She is very brave and she moves very well; even when she is in front she doesn't pull or anything like that."

James Fanshawe, trainer of second-placed Spacious, said: "She ran very well, Jamie (Spencer) just thought she could have done with a stronger pace.

"We are not thinking of the Oaks, we'll stick to a mile at the moment."

stanjamesuk.com 1,000 Guineas (Newmarket)
1. Natagora (C Lemaire) 11-4f
2. Spacious (J Spencer) 11-2
3. Saoirse Abu (K Manning) 20-1
15 ran. Distances: � length, � length, neck