Proconsul, a full-brother to the great Frankel, finished eighth on his racecourse debut at Chantilly.
The Andre Fabre-trained three-year-old, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah, was not given an unnecessarily robust ride by Vincent Cheminaud in the mile-and-a-quarter Prix de Joinville.
Even so, connections have much to consider after he wilted pretty tamely once the main players went for home along the straight.
The race was won quite nicely by the John Hammond-trained Cedar Blue.