French racing preview: Graeme North tips for ParisLongchamp

Fascinating Orange one to savour

There has been a lot of Group racing recently in France with three contests on Thursday at Longchamp quickly following the four staged there on ‘Arc Trials Day’ last Sunday, and there’s another three at the same venue this Sunday with the Prix du Prince d’Orange looking a race to savour.

Anyone new to following Flat racing in France and prepared to risk a wager or two this weekend ought to be aware that official going descriptions are often as inaccurate as they are this side of the Channel. The going at Longchamp last Sunday was on the soft side of good according to the Parisian authorities but race times suggested it was much faster than that, fast enough in fact for Timeform to call it good to firm, while additional yardage goes unreported and can add substantially to official race distances giving the impression the ground is often slower in theory than it is in reality. Longchamp was hit by some heavy rain on Thursday, enough for Timeform to change the ground from ‘good’ to ‘good to soft’ as the meeting progressed, and with plenty of rain around in the Paris area too on Saturday I’m expecting the ground to be on the easy side.

The Japanese have never won the Arc de Triomphe despite having won several of the recognised trials but in a year when the current Arc favourite is the horse who finished second last year and who was left standing by Calandagan at Saint-Cloud in July, this might be the year they break their hoodoo. They’ve already thrown down a couple of markers with Alohi Aali having run away with the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville in August and Byzantine Dream having landed the Prix Foy last weekend, and another of the Japanese big guns, Croix Du Nord, lines up as favourite for the Prince ‘d’Orange.

Croix Du Nord is one of five three-year-olds in the contest and although his achievements won’t be familiar to most readers he has achieved most of the quintet having beaten seventeen opponents to win the Japanese Derby at Tokyo back in June. I’d be lying if I said I knew the exact merit of that form, but the race has been won in the past by Deep Impact who went on to finish third in the Arc as well as by Orfevre who was arguably the unluckiest Japanese loser of all in Arc.

Croix du Nord, whose dam was the Dave Nevison-owned Oaks second Rising Cross, has started favourite for all his four races in Japan and was sent off as short as 11/10 at Tokyo before winning readily having got across from an outside draw to race handily, but though he’s set to go off short again this is a prep run after all, he’s dropping back two furlongs in distance and there are a couple of very talented colts of his generation up against him. First of those is Daryz who was sent over for the Juddmonte International at York but ended up finishing last of six behind Ombudsman, the horse who won this race in 2024. Held-up towards the back taking a keen hold, Daryz looked far from the progressive colt who’d won his first four races in France and the manner in which he’d earlier disposed of subsequent Prix Niel second Bay City Roller in the Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud (albeit that one might have been flattered in the Niel) suggested that if there’s still an untapped star amongst the French three-year-old colts it might yet be him.

Daryz ought to confirm the form with Eugene Adam fourth Dumonet who was subsequently smashed out of the park by Alohi Aali at Deauville in the race Prix Niel winner Cualificar was third, but Ombudsman’s unbeaten stablemate Nahraan is sure to be a tough opponent. He won a listed race at Hamilton last time from subsequent Great Voltigeur third Arabian Force and had an entry himself in the Juddmonte only to swerve that race. Karl Burke’s Bolster can’t be ruled out if returning to the form he showed in 2024 when successful four times, not least given the current form of the stable, and if the mud is flying he could well go very well given he showed much more life at Goodwood last time. A fascinating race and no need for a bet.

Ideal scenario for Couvert fancy

A better betting contest is the opening Group contest, the Group 3 Prix du Petit Couvert over the straight five furlongs.

It was in this race last year that Monteille went into my notebook as one to keep an eye on after finishing eighth of fifteen, beaten only around a length despite being all dressed up and nowhere to go for all of the last two furlongs. Regular readers of this column will know I recommended her at 80/1 in the Prix du Gros-Chene back in June on a very profitable day for this column, since when she came over to Ascot for the King Charles III Stakes and ran well, eighth overall, drawn among the favoured high numbers true but even so perhaps finding the ground faster than she would appreciate.

She’s not the only one in this who was seen at Ascot – also sent over for that race was Estepona, who finished fifteenth racing in the same group as Monteille, while Rayevka took in the Commonwealth Cup and finished third behind Time For Sandals and Arizona Blaze, neither of whom have let the form down since. Rayevka is the clear form pick on that effort by 5lb or so, and she has since taken in another Group 1 race finishing seventh of 11 behind Sajir in the Prix Maurice de Gheest. It may be that Rayevka wasn’t on the best part of the track at Deauville where Sajir raced widest of all (Inisherin, who hogged the stand rail and seemed to run poorly, ran very well from another terrible draw as things turned out in the Haydock Sprint Cup) but a bigger question for those toying with backing her is that she hasn’t yet raced over the minimum distance and is drawn slightly away from the action here too.

British raider Spartan Arrow hasn’t been seen to best advantage on his last two starts but they were in the Nunthorpe at York and the King George at Goodwood, and he won a listed race at Chantilly in June when having a couple of these behind on the back of a good second in the ‘Dash’ at Epsom. That said, Monteille looks to have exactly the same set up that benefitted her no end at Chantilly, drawn next to the certain leader Ponntos who barely stays four furlongs these days let alone five and she’ll get an ideal tow into the race that ought to see her very quickly secure a pitch next to the favoured far rail as she did at Chantilly. If all goes as planned, she should gain consolation for her defeat in this race last year.

Exxtra, Exxtra - read all about it

The final Group race on the card is the Prix du Pin over seven furlongs and has attracted a hotchpotch of contestants including several who have still to show their best form this season.

The best of that cohort is Poet Master – if narrowly – who was fifth in last year’s Prix de la Foret but hasn’t been seen since finishing last of the nine runners in the Gladness Stakes back in April. He’s reopposed here by the Foret fourth Exxtra who has also been well below her best this season and is another who has been give a significant break having had her last race in May. She was only fourth in this race last year off a much more consistent preparation, but she has a good record fresh and is more than good enough if fit and ready.

The surprising early favourite at 11/4 is Roshvar. That said, perhaps it shouldn’t be all that surprising given he comes into this with form figures of 11 and is trained by Francis Graffard, but those wins were gained in minor events at Clairefontaine and Dieppe he had every right to win and his previous incursions into Group events have yet to see him finish in the first four. Polyvega continues to frustrate with several of her recent runs suggesting there ought to be a bigger performance in her locker than she is producing, with excuses on account of ground, track position and race distance all acceptable excuses for recent defeats. Indeed, she ran the fastest last three furlongs according to the official tracking data in the Group 3 Prix de la Porte Maillot here back in June when closing late on King Gold and Siam Paragon who are both in opposition again today.

King Gold has made that race his own, winning each of the last three renewals, and the grey, who won at Meydan back in January and landed the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest back in 2023, is running as well as ever despite his eight years of age. That said, he’s got a tricky draw in stall nine whereas Polyvega is drawn two and Siam Paragon is drawn one. Siam Paragon also has a win over course and distance to her name this season and with Christophe Soumillon on duty in Ireland for Aidan O’Brien is reunited with Aurelien Lemaitre for the first time since that win.

In conclusion, Poet Master looks overpriced on form at a general 7/1 given his stable’s recent results (two Group wins at Leopardstown yesterday) and his own record fresh (won first time out in 2023 and 2024) but his rider Pierre Louis-Jamin hasn’t ridden at Longchamp before, let alone over this unique seven-furlong layout, and I’d consider that a big negative, so no bet is the conclusion.

Selection

12.58 Monteille 1pt win 11/2 general (13/2 in a place)

Published at 0934 BST on 14/09/25

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