Only one horse, a filly named Grain of Truth, opposed Durtal when she ran in the Rose of Lancaster Stakes over six furlongs at Haydock Park Racecourse.
At Newmarket Racecourse in October, Durtal, ridden by Lester Piggott started at odds of 5/1[4] for the Cheveley Park Stakes, then the only Group One race of the season in the United Kingdom restricted to two-year-old fillies.
She was restrained by Piggott until the final quarter mile when she went to the front and quickly went clear of her rivals to win impressively by five lengths from Miss Pinkie.
Durtal did not run in the 1000 Guineas, being aimed instead at the French equivalent, the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches over 1600 metres at Longchamp Racecourse, a race which offered a large bonus for horses bred by French-based breeders.
[6] Piggott was unseated after being "hung up" by the stirrup[7] and the filly crashed into a rail sustaining injuries which necessitated her withdrawal from the race, which was won in her absence by Dunfermline.
[8] Durtal never fully recovered from her injuries, and in her only subsequent appearance she finished last of the three runners behind Noirima and No Cards in the Marlborough House Stakes over one mile at Ascot Racecourse in October.
[5] There was no International Classification of European two-year-olds in 1976: the official handicappers of Britain, Ireland and France compiled separate rankings for horses which competed in those countries.