Aidan O'Brien won the French 2,000 Guineas on Sunday with St Mark's Basilica ridden by Ioritz Mendizabal in place of the suspended champion jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot. Boudot was lined up to partner the smart winner of the Longchamp colts' classic until handed a three-month ban on Friday by French racing's rulers France-Galop over his rape indictment. Like Boudot, Mendizabal has reached the heights of his career having been crowned French champion jockey on four occasions. After a slow start he enjoyed a seamless run on the 9-4 chance, challenging from midfield down the outside to deny Colosseo at 80-1 and 25-1 shot Breizh Eagle. The big disappointment was Poetic Flare who encountered traffic problems which hampered his bid to add this to his win in the English equivalent a fortnight ago. Like Poetic Flare O'Brien's Mother Earth lined up in the French 1,000 Guineas after success in the English 1,000. And she would have accomplished the double if it hadn't been for the presence of 66-1 outsider Coeursamba who was a revelation after turning up at Longchamp with only a win in a minor race at neighbouring Saint-Cloud as a two-year-old. nr/dmc