Today sees the first two French Classics, the Poule d’Eassai des Poulains and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and with it the return of this column which will preview Sunday Group 1 action in France for the remainder of the season whenever there is any.
We had a fair bit of success last year with some big-priced winners, notably on French Derby Day, but it was noticeable thereafter that prices offered by most firms tightened up considerably so it will be difficult to repeat that success. Anyway, to the races.
The Poule d’Essai des Poulains is the first of the two Classics, has attracted thirteen runners and is off at 14.50. It’s a mostly domestic affair yet the standout horse on Timeform ratings is the Irish-trained Puerto Rico who is the only Group 1 winner in the field having won both the Jean-Luc Lagardere here and the Criterium International at Saint-Cloud in October. That International win was achieved easily under hands and heels but it’s the Lagardere which is the more relevant form line here as he had behind him that day the re-opposing pair Nighttime who was second and Rayif who was third. Those three dominated the market for that race with Rayif perhaps sent off a sentimental favourite after a straightforward win in the Prix Francois Boutin on his previous outing, but Puerto Rico never looked in any danger of defeat once kicking on early in the straight and won by two and a half lengths and a length and a quarter.
Like Puerto Rico, Rayif is making his seasonal reappearance tomorrow and might well get closer given he came from off the pace in the Lagardere but Nighttime has already been out this season when pipped a short nose here in the Prix de Fontainebleau. The horse who beat him, Komorebi, as well as the third that day Elastic, also line up again here and there’s very little between the first two at least given they had also met once at two in the Prix la Rochette where Nighttime came out on top by three quarters of a length but Komorebi ran the faster last 600m.
O’Brien also saddles Dorset who has made the running several times before but seems unlikely to be there for pacemaking duties seeing as Puerto Rico made the running in all three of his wins at two which also included a victory over Craven winner Oxagon in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster. Dorset won the Group 3 Killavullen Stakes last year and shaped as if needing the run when a respectable seventh in the Group 3 Red Rocks Stakes at Leopardstown on his reappearance. Even if he isn’t in to make the pace, it seems likely the race will be well run with Hankelow and Wootton Centurion both having achieved their biggest wins form the front as well.
The latter hasn’t been tested in pattern company yet, winning impressively on his only start at two by six lengths but just scrambling home in heavy conditions on his reappearance, albeit the runner-up that day, Lord Clover, franked the form when finishing second to Hawk Mountain in the Prix de Guiche earlier this month, but Hankelow, for all he hasn’t run this year, won the Group 2 Autumn Stakes last season and looks to have been rerouted here because the ground looks set to be a fair bit softer than he would have encountered at Newmarket. That Autumn win was gained at the expense of the hard-pulling Al Zanati and he went on to win the Prix Thomas Bryon and was second in the Classic Trial at Sandown on his return, but it might be that Hankelow will need a mile and a quarter himself soon given his dam stayed a mile and three quarters.
Puerto Rico is the likeliest winner but the market tells you that and selecting short-priced horses isn’t really the modus operandi of this column.
British and Irish trainers are better represented in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches half an hour later, saddling a combined third of the fifteen-strong field.
Half Sovereign, Isle Of Fernandez and Venosa are all up against it, particularly the last-named who is presumably in under Hollie Doyle as a pacemaker for Diamond Necklace, but both Diamond Necklace and Zanthos - who are neck and neck on Timeform ratings clear of the rest - have leading claims.
Diamond Necklace is a strong favourite and is unbeaten in three runs including the Prix Marcel Boussac here last autumn when she had the re-opposing Green Spirit a length behind in second and Narissa, who also lines up here, a further length and a quarter back in third. There doesn’t seem any obvious reason why Green Spirit, who covered almost 5 metres less than Diamond Necklace according to the tracking data, should reverse the form and she was only fourth on her reappearance in the Prix de La Grotte anyway, but Narissa (who was second in the Grotte won by the subsequent 1000 Guineas runner-up Evolutionist) has claims to get much closer seeing as she ran the last 600 metres faster than Diamond Necklace and only ceded the last 200 marginally after the effort of making her run from last place told. Narissa was also faster than Evolutionist over the last 600m of the Grotte, albeit marginally having looked rusty when dropped out in rear early on, but however she fares here I suspect she’ll probably turn out to be better suited by the Prix de Diane distance.
Unlike Diamond Necklace, Zanthos isn’t unbeaten having been turned over at longs odds-on her second start but that clearly wasn’t her running as she rebounded in smart fashion in the Rockfel Stakes afterwards, beating subsequent 1000 Guineas fourth The Prettiest Star by half a length with three lengths back to the rest who included (in fifth place) 1000 Guineas sixth Touleen. That’s clearly a very solid piece of form underpinned by a fast timefigure (107) and clearly what her connections who spent seven figures on her at the Breeze-Ups were after, but she’s got to prove herself over an extra furlong here (that said, dam won over eleven furlongs) at the same time as on a surface that isn’t likely to be fast and from a draw too that’s slightly wider than ideal.
As might be expected given the numbers, plenty are taking a shot at the moon, but Showna deserves her place after her win at massive odds in the Prix Imprudence at Deauville last month. There’s a chance that effort flattered her a bit as she was produced with her run widest of all in the centre of the track, often the place to be on the straight course there, and runner-up My Highness didn’t exactly frank the form with ninth place in the 1000. Also of interest are The Last Dance and Maintain. The Last Dance won a minor event over today’s trip here last time (having scored very impressively over 300 metres further on her debut) from Ymeelih and Fashion City who both take her on again here. Fashion City was set a lot to do that day, covering almost 6 metres further than The Last Dance whilst running easily the fastest last 600 metres, but The Last Dance always had things well under control and Christophe Soumillon takes the ride again.
Maintain has only run once at this distance in three starts and comes back in trip after finishing third in the Prix Vanteaux last time where she finished well after getting into trouble having been settled in last place from her outside stall. She’s run the fastest last 600 metres in all of her races and looks slightly overpriced if you can get the standout 18/1, otherwise she isn’t.
Before then there are two other Group races, the Prix de Saint-Georges and the Prix Saint-Alary and I’ll deal with the latter first given it has superior status.
Six run and are headed (just) on Timeform ratings by the unbeaten Gilded Prize who was last seen winning the Prix Cleopatre at Saint-Cloud in April by three and a half lengths. She looks a big, brute of a filly to say the least and she went clear readily then after setting a slow pace, showing her usual pounding round action. That performance is probably worth a bit more than Composing achieved when winning the Debutante Stakes last year (had Evolutionist back in third) since when her form has stalled on top of which she now takes a big step up in trip having finished fifth on her reappearance behind subsequent 1000 Guineas winner True Love.
That said, Concorde Agreement has achieved just as much and it was hard not to be impressed by the manner in which she quickened clear of a big field in the Prix Vanteaux on her reappearance (had Maintain back in third) and she looks to have been underestimated in the betting. Evita, Lapotheose and Habibi make up the sextet; the last two have plenty to find but Evita remains promising despite losing her unbeaten record at Chantilly on her reappearance when set far too much to do behind a winner who pinched the race from the front. Concorde Agreement should be much closer in the betting to Gilded Prize than she is and is worth a bet.
Regular readers of this column will know that French sprints aren’t my favourite punting medium, largely because the form of such races tends to swing so wildly, which might seem odd seeing as Monteille (twice) and Mgheera won at good odds for us last year, but the draw at Longchamp and Chantilly is often important and even more so when Ponntos is in the line-up as he is here. He may not have the five-furlong high-class longevity of old, but he is still just about the fastest three-furlong horse in France which ought to make Rogue Lightning, Rayevka and Afjan who are all drawn inside him of particular interest.
All the same, Rogue Lightning has something to find on form and has blinkers on for the first time since finishing eighth in the 2024 Abbaye when he was poorly drawn, while last year’s Commonwealth Cup third Rayevka (out of the first three in two runs in Meydan this year) has always looked as if the minimum trip is indeed to much of a minimum and Afjan couldn’t take advantage of a good draw in a weaker race than this at Chantilly last time and hasn’t really lived up to early promise. Ponntos has won this race twice before and won the Premio Certosa in Italy last time, while Jawwal and Mgheera were second and fifth in the Arc last year from good draws but have fared much less well on this occasion.
Selection
- 12.50 Longchamp 1pt win Concorde Agreement 7/1
Preview published at 09:40 BST on 10/05/26
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