The raiding party at Chantilly today is not very large. The prize money for the Group 3 Prix du Gros Chene should be coming back across the Channel with James Fanshawe as Kind Of Blue has at least 8lb in hand on his opponents. In the following Prix de Sandringham, Eve Johnson Houghton’s Betty Clover may be up against it in the Group 2 race but has the services of William Buick. Godspeed did not run badly in the Pouliches last time and the once raced (ten length winner) Vadinska is favourite with the bookies from the strong Francis-Henri Graffard barn. British interest in the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont centres on Andrew Balding’s Secret Of Love, but Kirsten Rausing’s three year old will have to settle better than she did when easily beaten in the Cheshire Oaks.
The British and Irish raiding party for the Prix Du Jockey Club numbers six of the eighteen declared. Not too surprisingly, the British/Irish bookies have factored this into the prices so several of them would be better odds on the PMU. Last year the first four home were drawn in the first four stalls.
As seems to becoming the norm these days, many of the home defence have only had a couple of races making the form difficult to assess. The three Wertheimer & Frere runners have had a total of six starts. Andre Fabre’s Nitoi won one of the key trials in a blanket finish ahead of Leffard and Azimpour over course and distance. Curiously stable jockey Maxime Guyon has chosen Fabre’s mile maiden winner Sinileo instead. The third contender, Frankel colt Frankly Good Cen, was second in a mile conditions race last time at Compeigne and looks the least likely to trouble the judge.
Richard Hannon’s King Of Cities was second in the Feilden Stakes on his seasonal bow and is clearly well regarded as they paid to add him to the field; and 12/1 might be generous. He is in the ten box next door to Ridari, who was fifth in the Poulains, which seems to be the key form race here. The third, fourth, sixth and eleventh from Longchamp are all in the field today. It is hard to make a case for Heybetli (eleventh) turning that form around over the extra two furlongs. Detain was sixth for the Gosdens, only a length behind Ridari, who had Luther a head in front and Camille Pissarro a neck in front of that one in third. Frankel colt Luther probably improved the most that day as the O’Brien contender ran to form with his winning stablemate. Wootton Bassett colt Detain showed some improvement and there is enough stamina in his pedigree to give him a good chance from his low draw in 6.
It looks quite easy to eliminate a couple of the outsiders as Al Aali and Curragh Camp chased home Andre Fabre’s Cualificar in the Prix de Guiche and William Buick now takes the ride on the Godolphin colt, albeit starting from box 12. Oisin Murphy takes over on Qatar Racing’s Dubawi colt Parachutiste, who won a conditions race at this trip last time but looks up against it in box 17.
It is strange to see Jean-Claude Rouget with no fancied contender and the chestnut Tipinso was last seen in a mile Listed race at Toulouse finishing second. Trinity College was beaten in a photo for the Blue Riband Trial at Epsom and that looks a little short of the necessary level here and easy novice winner Bowmark is going to have to show marked improvement under Tom Marquand to feature, which is not impossible.
So this looks difficult to assess. It would be ironic if Kieran Shoemark were to win on Luther having been jocked off by the Gosdens. Sinileo is the shortest price of the Fabre runners because of the jockey but I think Cualificar has the better form; however, I think the winner is going to come from the Poulains and I just prefer RIDARI over Camille Pissarro and Detain, all closely matched on that form, as he has the middle distance pedigree that might see the most improvement in the uphill climb to the Chantilly post if he can overcome his 11 draw.
