Timeform reveal the ratings banker, the big improver and a Flag of note at Longchamp on Sunday.
The ratings banker
Space Blues - 17:00 Longchamp
Space Blues enjoyed a tremendous season in 2020, winning four times, including the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. He has had more of a truncated campaign this time around and was off for four months after flopping at Meydan, but he shaped with promise when a close-up fourth in the Lennox Stakes on his reappearance and looked as good as ever when comfortably landing the Sky Bet City of York Stakes at the Ebor meeting in August.
The form Space Blues showed at York was a notch below what he achieved in the Prix Maurice de Gheest last season, but he went through the race like a horse at the top of his game and he is likely to prove too good for these rivals.
The big improver
Acer Alley - 13:15 Longchamp
There are a host of progressive fillies in the Prix Marcel Boussac but the one to side with could be Acer Alley. She is bred to be smart, being by Siyouni and a half-sister to US Grade 1 winner Digital Age, and she looked a good prospect when posting a much-improved effort to land the Group 3 Prix la Rochette here over seven furlongs last month.
Acer Alley was strong at the finish last time, suggesting that she may improve again for the step up to a mile, while testing conditions won't hold any fears as she got off the mark on heavy ground at Saint-Cloud in June.
The Timeform Flag
Grand Glory - 15:50 Longchamp (Top-Rated, Jockey Uplift)
Grand Glory was only seventh in the Prix de l'Opera last year but she has much stronger claims this time around, arriving on the back of a career-best success in the Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville in August. Grand Glory narrowly got the better of last year's Prix de l'Opera winner Audarya to register a breakthrough win at Group 1 level.
That win was achieved with Cristian Demuro in the saddle but Frankie Dettori takes over again and that change has resulted in Timeform's Jockey Uplift Flag being generated. Dettori is still operating right at the top of his game and his presence in the saddle would be a positive for most horses.
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