Our French expert tipped Fairy Glen on Saturday and he is back with his best bets for Sunday's card at ParisLongchamp.
French racing tips: Sunday October 4
2pts win Allela in 12:31 Longchamp at 4/1
0.5pts e.w Corolla Point in the 13:47 Longchamp at 18/1
1pt win Marvelman in the 16:25 Longchamp at 12/1
Francis Graffard’s recent assertion that 2025 Arc winner Daryz is the best horse he has ever trained – better even than the mighty Calandagan – suggests he’s more than a bit hopeful that his incumbent will become the first horse since Enable in 2018 to achieve back-to-back Arc wins.
From a very helpful draw in stall 5, he’s arguably still unexposed after eleven runs, not least at the trip, at which he’s run only twice. He’s not the horse ‘best in’ at the weights according to Timeform ratings – that’s the improved Kalpana, who beat Calandagan and Benvenuto Cellini in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes this year but was only seventh in the Arc last year after covering more than four metres (though it looked more) than Daryz according to the official tracking data – but with home advantage he’s understandably the market leader and looks set for the rail-hugging ride he got last year when still pulling double entering the home straight proper.
With so much else to cover at Longchamp on Sunday, though, and numerous Arc angles available on Sporting Life, I’ll move along and crack on with the Marcel Boussac which opens the card.
Top on Timeform ratings, albeit marginally, is Joseph O’Brien’s Green Empress. She’s only won one of her four races, the Group 2 Debutante Stakes at the Curragh in August, and then by only a neck, and wasn’t any measure for the top-class juvenile Sun Goddess in the Moyglare Stud Stakes last time out but that’s hardly any disgrace, at least beating the Debutante runner-up further than she had at the Curragh.
She’s just one of two Group winners in the twelve-runner field, with the other being the progressive Data who won the Prix Six Perfections at Deauville in August and would arguably have gone very close to winning the Prix d’Aumale last time too had she not been badly hampered in the straight.
Three more runners have also achieved ‘Black Type’ status – Queen Of The Day, who was second in the Six Perfections, Nevermindtherain, who was third in the Silver Flash at Leopardstown back in July but remains a maiden, and Tall Trees who was third in the listed Star Stakes at Sandown – but the horse who still makes most appeal despite all their collective credentials is ALLELA who has been supplemented for this, is in the same ownership as Data and is trained by Christophe Ferland whose stable star remains the 2024 Arc runner-up Aventure.
Of all the races I have watched this season in France, the only comparable instance to Allela of a horse having to sit and suffer the whole of the straight hemmed in on the rail with nowhere to go was Erdenali in the Prix Messidor at Deauville, and he showed how unlucky he had been when coming out and winning the Prix du Moulin next time. I’m not saying Allela is that good, but despite her terrible luck at Chantilly last time still managed to get up and win to add to her debut four-length win at Deauville. I’d have her as favourite for this, so 4/1 looks a good bet.
Ten go to post for the Jean-Luc Lagardere. Aidan O’Brien and Andre Fabre have won six of the last eleven runnings between them with three wins apiece and saddle a combined four runners here with O’Brien running Man’s Best Friend, Aix La Chapelle and likely pacemaker Florida Bay and Fabre (whose daughter’s name is now also on the license) Imperial Strike. Man’s Best Friend is the best of the O’Brien trio to date having won the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood but he was disappointing in the Prix Morny last time out and I’d be surprised if that Richmond form is good enough to see him home here now he tries 1400m (or short of seven furlongs, and which he should stay) for the first time.
Aix La Chapelle was favourite for the Chesham after a winning debut only to be withdrawn and was third, demoted to fourth, in his only run since in the Tyros Stakes back in July. Imperial Strike won his first two races, which were both at Deauville and then finished second to what had looked France’s best youngster to that point, Avec Toi, in the Prix La Rochette last time out. That race rather ended Avec Toi’s invincibility and how he’ll fare here with Florida Bay in the field remains to be seen given he’s had his own way on front so far, and it’s not out of the question Imperial Strike will reverse the placings.
In any case, both will have to improve some to beat Folsom Blues who sets a tall standard. He has improved with every run, would surely have beaten Florida Bay (and Aix La Chapelle even further) in the Tyros had he not been set too much to do and after finishing second to the top-class juvenile filly Sun Goddess in the Phoenix Stakes ran away with the National Stakes last time (had Florida Bay over seven lengths back in third) when stepped back up to seven furlongs. Interestingly Francis Graffard has declared the filly Amusingly.
She was a winner at Compeigne on her debut and then finished second to the British challenger Rogue Passion in the Prix d’Aumale last time over a mile after looking the winner when going smoothly to the front after pulling hard early. It’s hard to think that form is good enough, but the drop in trip could easily bring about more improvement, and a win for Data in the opener would be a boost.
Odd as it may seem, the only trainer double handed in the Prix de l’Abbaye is Katie Scott who trains a string of just twenty or so horses in Scotland but if you believe historical trends the draw hasn’t been kind to her with both her participants, Naana’s Shadow, who is the horse top on Timeform ratings, and Luna A Inbhir Nis, whose name regular Longchamp commentator Stephane Costes might have some trouble pronouncing, are both berthed in the four widest stalls.
I wouldn’t be too ready to take those statistics at face value, however, as fancied horses Highfield Princess won from stall 14 in 2024 and Mabs Cross from 13 in 2018 and besides Naana’s Shadow in stall 14 and Luna A Inbhir Nis in stall 12 there is pace everywhere you look with Ponntos in stall 1, Miss Yechance in 8 and Jawwal in 11. The supplemented Miss Yechance, who won a hot handicap at York (Naana’s Shadow was third, five of the first seven home won next time out) prior to winning the Group 3 World Trophy at Newbury last time is besides Naana’s Shadow (who won the Prix du Petit Couvert here last time, breaking even faster than Ponntos and never looking like being caught) the most progressive of those.
And these days of course there’s very little between Group race sprinters and top-end handicappers, so there’s every chance they’ll be good enough to put it up to the likes of Rumstar (stall 13) who has been beaten in his last two races only by July Cup winner Comanche Brave, King George winner American Affair, crack American three-year-old Bacio and Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Starlust, or Commonweath Cup winner Time For Sandals who had a nightmare run in the Nunthorpe and should finished second at least.
With little to split those at the top of the ratings and market, however, my eye is drawn to COROLLA POINT. Being drawn around plenty of pace ought to be a big help to him this time as his second place behind subsequent Portland Handicap winner Air Force One at York last time came off a mark of 100 and he was the first horse home of those who raced in the group who were well off the far-side runners at halfway, eventually winning his ‘race’ by three lengths. That suggests to me he’s probably a bit under the radar still, and good enough to finish in the first three and maybe even find the improvement needed to win.
Aventure has already had one mention in this column and she now gets another as she sets the standard, albeit narrowly, in the Prix de l’Opera. She was the tip of this column in the 2024 Arc, eventually finishing second after some late market support, and though she’s not quite hit those heights since she showed a new side to herself last time when beating Diamond Necklace in the Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville, showing a good turn of foot and full value for a two-length win.
With Diamond Necklace diverted to the Arc, Aidan O’Brien relies on Precise who looked potentially top class earlier in the year but has plateaued out in her last four races, losing all of them, and is now stepped up in trip after a lacklustre effort at the Curragh to a trip that has promised to suit. Aventure shouldn’t have anything to fear from Timeforshowcasing, Cankoura or Beautify, all of whom finished behind her at Deauville, but she faces a new rival in Pink Panthera who has finished second in the French Oaks, the Prix de Malleret and the Prix Vermeille on her last three starts. Beaten a cigarette paper by Diamond Necklace when ridden by Tony Piccone in the French Oaks, Pink Panthera was also given a lot to do by today’s jockey in the Vermeille and being held up out the back seems to be how she is ridden for better or worse.
Miss Scott is the most interesting of the rest despite having most to do on ratings. She was a rare runner for the Gosdens in Ireland last time and won the big-field Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes by almost four lengths, well on top at the finish despite the drop in trip. Back up in distance today, this will be just her sixth race, and she’s surely got more improvement in her.
Bizarrely, just eight go to post for the Prix de la Foret and two of them met in the City Of York Stakes at York in August when MARVELMAN was third and Puerto Rico was sixth. That’s a fair reflection of their respective merit this term as well as last when even though Puerto Rico won two Group 1 races, including the Jean-Luc Lagardere on this card, Marvelman won the Park Stakes at Doncaster by almost four lengths, a level of form he ran up to in the City of York.
A slightly inconsistent record – he was last in the Sprint Cup at Haydock last time out, partly explains his big price, but there’s no way he should be 12/1 faced with just seven rivals and the likelihood of a front-running or very close to the pace ride from stall 4.
Two of his rivals, Thesecretadversary and Samangan, are Group 1 winners, the former over this trip in the Prix Jean Prat where he beat three of today’s rivals including Samangan, and the latter in the Prix Maurice de Gheest where he edged out Division and Stolen Kiss in the tightest finish to a Group 1 in Europe this season. The Maurice de Gheest was steadily run and Samangan was better placed than the two who followed him home (the Jean Prat second True Love was also in that race and finished fifth) and for all he’s been progressive this season, shouldn’t be as short as 7/4.
Preview posted at 16:25 BST on 03/10/2026
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