Are you sitting comfortably? Then I will begin... Those of you that spent most of your French lessons looking at the hot piece of totty doing the teaching (like me) rather than listening will have missed the sounds-like-French meaning in the title. A warning to punters that with the ground already riding on the soft side and with rain forecast for the whole weekend, this card could turn out to be a triumph of stamina over speed. PRIX DE LA SEINE Listed Race (2200m, 3yo) Zarshana â A de Royer Dupre, C Soumillon Verdura â J-C Rouget, I Mendizabal Super Electra â F Graffard, R Thomas Sahrawi â M Delzangles, C Lemaire Mayumi â A Fabre, Ms A Foulon Newsroom â A Fabre, M Guyon Whim â F Head, T Jarnet Ball Dancing â Mme P Brandt, A Hamelin Zarshana, a beautifully bred filly of the Aga Khanâs, is interesting coming here with a third in her only race to date. Verdura was second in a listed race last time and Whim was well beaten in a Group 3 on seasonal debut. The three unbeaten records here are Sahrawi, a daughter of Pivotal, Mayumi, a daughter of Rock Of Gibraltar owned by the trainerâs wife and Newsroom, a Manduro filly who won her only start. This looks a race for the notebook rather than betting. PRIX HOCQUART Group 2 (2200m, 3yo) Diaghan â M Delzangles, C Soumillon Orbec â J-C Rouget, G Benoist Aventador â T Castanheira, R Marchelli Adelaide â A OâBrien, R Moore Gallante â A Fabre, P Boudot Elliptique â A Fabre, M Guyon Free Port â F Head, T Jarnet This French Derby trial will be of particular interest to foreign observers with Ballydoyle represented by Adelaide whilst the home defence is headed by Andre Fabreâs Elliptique and Freddie Headâs Free Port Lux. Gallante was third in a Group 3 on seasonal debut but two-year-old Group 3 winner Elliptique disappointed when fifth in one to start the campaign. Free Port Lux placed in a Group race last time. Unless something wins this emphatically, we may have forgotten it my Monday evening. POULE DâESSAI DES POULICHES Group 1 (1600m, 3yo fillies) Avenir Certain â J-C Rouget, G Benoist StraightThinking â A Fabre, M Guyon Mintaka â A de Royer Dupre, F Di Fede Veda â A de Royer Dupre, C Soumillon Al Thakhira â M Botti, L Dettori Lesstalk In Paris â J-C Rouget, I Mendizabal Wonderfully â A OâBrien, R Moore Xcellence â F Doumen, C Demuro Queen Catrine â C Hills, J Spencer J Wonder â B Meehan, C Lemaire This Time â HA Pantall, F Veron Stellar Path â X Thomas Demeaulte, G Mosse Ice Love â T Castanheira, R Marchelli Bawina â C Laffon-Parias, O Peslier Indonesienne â C Ferland, F Prat Cape Factor â R Guest, W. Buick Almost as numerically competitive as the 1000 Guineas was at Newmarket, the three key 2014 form lines here are difficult to compare. The form of Xcellenceâs victory in the Prix Imprudence was boosted by the victory of Miss France (a dire sixth that day) at Newmarket but the lacklustre showing of Vorda has to be overlooked. Indonesienne could only manage third in the Prix de la Grotte in April, victory going to Lesstalk In Paris, whom she had conquered in the Prix Marcel Boussac last October (Veda and Wonderfully behind, both badly drawn here). StraightThinking was a good second but neither of the first two had a hard race. It was a typical sprint in the straight after Lesstalk In Paris had been forced to set a sedate pace for the small field so the form may not be of much value. J Wonder won the Fred Darling Stakes at Newbury and both she and runner-up Al Thakhira skipped Newmarket presumably for the easier ground on offer in Paris. Avenir Certain comes here unbeaten in three career starts, whilst Veda boasts two course and distance wins from her three starts. Bawina has won both her races this year and Stellar Path was second in a listed race to start this term. Cape Factor collected a listed race last year. The crucial factor in this may turn out to be the draw. A single figure draw is almost mandatory to win this unless it is a very special filly. The same applies to the colts in the Poulains. I do think Lesstalk In Paris is the one to beat here and she will almost certainly be shorter than the 7/2 the British bookies are offering on the PMU. POULE DâESSAI DES POULAINS Group 1 (1600m, 3yo) Prestige Vendome â N Clement, T Thulliez Itoobeboss â R Collet, V Vion Kiram â J-C Rouget, C Soumillon Muwaary â J Gosden, P Hanagan Zakhar Star â A Shavuyev, F Veron Salai â J-C Rouget, C Lemaire Decathlete â A Fabre, M Guyon Pornichet â N Clement, G Benoist Giovanni Boldini â A OâBrien, R Moore Karakontie â J Pease, S Pasquier End Of Line â A Balding, H Bentley Lat Hawill â M Botti, J Spencer Baby Foot â A de Royer Dupre, G Mosse Galiway â A Fabre, O Peslier Karakontieâs victory in the Lagardére last October (Baby Foot well beaten) does not look so good now that the runner-up has been comprehensively put in his place in the 2000 Guineas. In his trial race, the Prix de Fontainebleau, he was quite readily beaten by Derby prospect Ectot, whilst Galiway trailed in a remote third. Just how short a favourite should he be here? Clearly handicap winner Muwaary is very well regarded by John Gosden as he is pitched in to a race where several are at least a stone ahead of him on the ratings. Giovanni Boldini accumulated quite a few air miles last year and it would be no surprise to see him run a big race despite his poor draw. Kiram finished second in a Group 3 event on debut after three wins from four races last year. Salai won a listed race to start the season whilst Decathlete won over course and distance. Baby Foot has two wins at Cagnes-Sur-Mer this season. British raider Lat Hawill can only boast a fourth in a Newbury Group 3 last year and needs to find quite a bit to feature. Only Decathlete and Lat Hawill have single figure draws, however. If Karakontie is successful here, the Epsom odds for Ectot should collapse; however, whilst he has the best of the draw I do not see him as a good thing. Decathlete may be worth looking at to give Andre Fabre consecutive Classic weekends. PRIX SAINT-GEORGES Group 3 (1000m, 3yo+) Hamza â K Ryan, J Spencer Mirza â R Guest, W Buick Dibajj â A de Royer Dupre, G Mosse Catcall â P Sogorb, O Peslier Murcielago â M Keller, M Guyon Smoothtalkinrascal â D OâMeara, R Moore Stepper Point â W Muir, M Dwyer Kingsgate Choice â E de Giles, F Tylicki Riskit For a Biskit â M Bell, I Mendizabal Graphic Guest â R Cowell, H Bentley Signs Of Blessing â F Rohaut, S Pasquier With more than half the field looking to take the prize money out of the country, this might end up simply being a case of sticking a pin in the racecard and hoping for the best!
I like INDONESIENNE 17-2 for the fillies race. Yes she was beaten last time by Lesstalk In Paris but the ground today will very much be in her favour today. Her formline through Miss France obviously now reads very well. In the boys race I am all over GALIWAY @ 8-1. It strikes me that Fabre has been very gentle with this one thus far and today he will step up and show his quality!
My piss poor performance in my french exams can not be attributed in any way to being distracted by the sexual allure of the teacher - she was hairier than Conchita Wurst. In the French 1000 Guineas I've had a little ew dabble on Rae Guest's Cape Factor @ 33s. Has a fair bit to find on ratings but is proven on soft ground and is drawn ok. Also Kingsgate Choice in the St George Sprint. Similar bet.
Playntee of bon judges seem to rate ze chance de Galiway, but a zeenk ee looks comme un 'orse ooh weel want furzer zan a maahl. Karakontie, on ze ozer 'and, as a chance de favourite. Merdique price, quand meme. So what about Les Rosbifs (ou Les Irlandaise)? Lat Hawill made a tres bon impression on his seule start as a juvenile, sheewed in ze Greenham zat ee as trenned on, and mah be worze a couple of euro on ze PMU.
Archers, you speak French just like my Mother In Law LOL ie English wiv ze Gallic accente a la Allo Allo! Very likely that GALIWAY will be better over further but I am hoping to see him given a more "positive" ride today!
Archers, my French teacher was a Mrs.Lewis, married to a Welshman. She was French alright. The obvious nickname we gave her was Madame Lulu. Nice lady though, did the impossible and got me through French in the finals. You obviously did well too!
Wish I had paid attention in French. Never thought I'd need it . A male teacher didn't help. Would have shown more interest if had been a young sexy French bird. Even after hours tutoring.
I imagine that ‘At The Races’ or ‘Racing UK’ had coverage of the big races from Longchamp, which may have given the false impression that it bucketed down with rain all afternoon as the forecast had suggested. I was there and the heavy showers seemed to show up at half hour intervals just as the runners had got to the start and then stop raining just after the race had finished. In between races it was mostly blue skies and a few fluffy clouds whilst the very strong cold wind gathered up the next shower. The ground was soft and the 59 seconds that the five furlong (1000m) sprint took was wind assisted. I note that the Poulains was two seconds slower than the Pouliches but neither race was anything out of the norm for France. It seems that it is not just British trainers that are conspiring against me. Jean-Claude Rouget had two in the Pouliches and won with the wrong one. Sacre bleu! The first three home all had impressive form figures but the winner Avenir Certain was stepping up substantially on the three minor events that she had collected along the way. I am not sure how much should be read into Karakontie’s win in the Poulains. He went off a short-priced favourite and was arguably the form horse in the race, but the close proximity of previous 82 rated Muwaary says that he is improving rapidly or that this was not a vintage renewal. We will see what they decide to do next with the winner. What a shame that his Fontainebleau conqueror Ectot is on the easy list and missed the race. Free Port Lux won the Hocquart readily enough but surely Adelaide was another disappointment for Ballydoyle, who do not seem to be able to do anything since Chester. At this rate Australia will be their only representative at Epsom and there may not be a very big field. It was a bad day all round for the Brits as the fillies went unnoticed in the Pouliches and despite having six of the eleven in the sprint, the home-trained favourite kept the Euros in France.
