Daily Racing Thread Sunday 13th. July 2025

Sunday's Meetings

Navan
Flat 7 Races 12:30-4:00p.m.
Sligo
N/H 7 Races 1:50-5:20p.m.
Perth
N/H 6 Races 1:58-4:53p.m.
Stratford
N/H 7 Races 2:07-5:35p.m.
Southwell(E)
A/W 8 Races 2:55-6:45p.m.

Racecards
At The Races
Sporting Life
Racing Post

Good Luck

 

This evening’s Bastille Day card at Longchamp is quite disappointing.

The first of the pattern races on the card is the Group 2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil (6.10 BST), a stayers’ race that has attracted seven. According to Sporting Life, the 50/1 outsider Emblet is Czech, so in the absence of form I will dismiss him from calculations. The German raider Waldadler looks easy enough to dismiss given that he contested the 2024 Irish St Leger and the 2024 Prix Kergolay and only beat one horse home, at Deauville where Double Major won by 7 lengths. Double Major won this race last year on his way to that Deauville race and subsequently won the French St Leger (Prix Royal Oak). This year he was second in the Dubai Gold Cup before only finishing fifth in the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier (Internaute sixth) won by subsequent Gold Cup flop Candelari. British interest in this race comes in the form of blinkered first time Yashin, who was tailed off last in the Gold Cup but had won the four runner Sagaro Stakes. The reality is that Michael Bell’s gelding is a borderline pattern performer (official rating 106), down the field in the Pitmen’s Derby and the Ebor last term, and will find at least one of the locals too good here. Another contender on that borderline is Christophe Ferland’s Columbus, winner of a small Group 3 last year and runner up in a Listed race on his only start so far in 2025. So that really only leaves the likely favourite, SIBAYAN, from the Francis-Henri Graffard yard. He was last in the Grand Prix de Paris on this card in 2024 and opened his 2025 account in a conditions race at Compiegne by four lengths. The last twice he has chased home Arrow Eagle in a Group 3 and a Group 2. Stepping up a furlong and a half today and with no Arrow Eagle to contend with he looks capable of stopping Double Major completing a double in the race.

With Indalimos a non runner in the Group 2 Prix de Malleret (6.50 BST), that leaves unbeaten Sunly long odds on to retain her record. Rabbit’s Foot was fifth behind her in the Prix de Royaumont on French Derby day and Ed Walker’s Qilin Queen was last seen trailing in down the field in The Oaks behind two fillies that she had previously beaten at Newbury. The British raider could set off to make the running today and she ought to handle the flat Paris turf whereas she did not like Epsom’s camber. It is totally impossible to assess Miss Of Change but according to Sporting Life she is Czech, which suggests that she will not be outrunning her 40/1 odds. So my one for the forecast would be Three Pearls, just touched off in a Listed race last time, provided that she handles the quicker ground today.

So the feature race, the Grand Prix de Paris (7.25 BST) has attracted six, with just one foreign raider from Ballydoyle, but the form is quite interwoven. Leffard finished second last in the Prix Du Jockey Club with two of today’s rivals ahead of him; however, prior to that he had been second in the Prix de Suresnes on this track with New Ground in third. Frankel colt Frankly Good Cen had finished seventh at Chantilly on only his third start, a couple of lengths behind Ballydoyle second-string Trinity College, subsequent winner of the Hampton Court Stakes. My guess is that Ryan Moore is going to set the fractions on the Dubawi colt as he did at Ascot. The well related Uther has not been seen since finishing only third in the Prix Greffulhe in May and comes here looking to emulate last year’s winner – his half brother. Victory would naturally throw him into the Arc mix with the Prix Niel probably next on the agenda. Surabad won a Listed race back in April over course and distance but was not seen again until the Prix du Lys at Chantilly, where he was beaten by Rafale Design, a horse that had previously been well behind Uther in the Prix Noailles. That form line suggests that he will struggle to beat either of the front two in the betting. Of that front pair in the betting, Derby fourth NEW GROUND looks to be the one to follow. He was unfancied at Epsom and did not handle the camber (hung across it in the final furlong when finishing strongly); however, the problem with the Derby form is that only the winner and Eclipse winner Delacroix have won since. Sixth home Tornado Alert was outpaced dropping back to ten furlongs when thrashed by Trinity College at Ascot. I am expecting that Colin Keane will sit behind Ryan Moore this evening and try to pick him off late on.

 

Fairly awful card at Longchamp today and some shocking results.

Well done to Ed Walker for winning a Group 2 with the 98 rated Qilin Queen.

If Sunly were not enough getting turned over at 1/3, Trinity College was backed to 4/6 from 5/4 while New Ground drifted from 7/4 to 11/2. The O' Brien Colt was pipped by outsider Leffard, who had been 17th of 18 in the French Derby and had come in today with a Racing Post mark of just 103. New Ground was a long way back in 3rd place, running as poorly as his massive drift in the market suggested he would.

No doubt the assessors will mark the winner up massively but the form looks dodgy to me.

A Group 1 and Group 2 that looked Group 3 level at best and neither race made any appeal as a betting medium.

A day for watching the Golf and keeping the wallet closed.

 

Before the Grand Prix de Paris there only two were being backed with the British layers: Trinity College had gone odds on from 6/5 to 4/6; and Surabad had more than halved from 12/1 to 5/1. They could not give New Ground away, out from 9/4 to 11/2.

I did not like the look of the Graffard runner walking around at the start flashing his tail, but maybe he always does that. Everything else looked okay and there was no trouble loading.

When the gate opened Trinity College went to the front as I expected but Frankly Blue Cen went with him and Moore conceded the lead and sat second. New Ground and Surabad sat at the back with Keane on the rail. The leader was going pretty quick and I wondered if there was some team tactics going on for Uther in the owner’s second colours. At the top of the straight Moore made his move and went clear looking like he was going to run away with it. Keane had left New Ground far too much to do but Leffard started to eat into the favourite’s lead on the outside and you could see it was going to be on the nod. As they hit the line it was Jean-Claude Rouget’s colt whose nose got to the camera first. Surabad was never out of the last two and New Ground was a remote third passing the two Wertheimer and Frere horses without ever being in the race.