Baraan tried to do a Zenyatta in the French Derby. Fully 20l of the pace he gradually caught up and then started what looked like a potentially winning run only to be squeezed for room a furlong out. It looked as though he had to be very briefly snatched up by his jockey visibly losing some momentum. He then found another gear to challenge strongly for the third place and surely, given a half decent ride, would have won this comfortably to uphold the Epsom Derby form. By my reckoning this has done the Epsom Derby form no harm at all.
Didn't see the race Ron just followed the in running prices on Betfair and wondered why he was 50/1 just after the off. Seemed to come in quite a bit towards the end but obviously couldn't make up the ground on Reliable Man and Crackerjack King.
Baraan looks like a shoo-in for the Grand Prix de Paris (the real French Derby these days) after that performance today. I can't believe how Ian Bartlett could have got it so spectacularly wrong with his commentary. I feel sorry for those people who'd backed Crackerjack King and thought they'd won. Nil points for Monsieur Bartlett!
If you backed the favourite Baraan in the Prix Du Jockey Club, you knew your fate within seconds of the stalls opening. Having missed the kick he would have needed to be another Pour Moi to win. That he managed to salvage third and only went down by a couple of lengths may be an indication that he is the best of the French colts this season (he needs to meet Pour Moi to decide that), so the Aga Khan could end up with a very strong hand by the time the Arc comes around on October 2nd.
It's not that he's not Zenyatta, it's more that he's racing against proper G1 competition, and not G3 fillies! I fancy he will go well in the Grand Prix De Paris, and reverse form with the winner, if he's given less to do
I think Baraan is some machine.Include Pour moi,Galikova and Golden Lilac and you have some potential superstars in the french ranks...far stronger it seems than the brits.
