RACING returned to Paris for the first time since July last weekend, with action at both Chantilly and ParisLongchamp.

Chantilly’s Saturday feature, the Group 3 Prix d’Arenberg, continued a theme of the summer as the victory of the Archie Watson-trained Soldier’s Call meant that all seven pattern races for two-year-olds run in France this year had been pilfered by English raiders.

As if to emphasise this domination, Soldier’s Call led home a British 1-2, defeating William Haggas’s Queen Of Bermuda by a length, the pair pulling a length and a half clear of Kilfrush Memories, who is still a maiden.

Partnered by Danny Tudhope, Soldier’s Call scotched suggestions that he needed a step up from this five-furlong trip, demonstrating superb early speed and never seeing any of his seven rivals.

It was a landmark victory for his 29-year-old Lambourn handler, and this Showcasing colt will always have a special place in Watson’s heart as, having given him a first Royal Ascot success in the Windsor Castle Stakes back in June, he was now responsible for breaking his group race duck.

“He’s a really good colt,” Watson said. “Last time out, in the Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood, he went to sleep in the stalls and lost some ground at the start but still finished third.

“The plan is to take him to Churchill Downs for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint [on November 2nd. Before then he could either run in the Flying Childers at Doncaster or take on older horses in the Prix de l’Abbaye.

“There’s no reason to think that he’s just a two-year-old and I hope that he’s got a big future.”

One for the Album

The British stranglehold on the top juvenile events was broken at Longchamp 24 hours later in the Group 3 Prix La Rochette over seven furlongs.

But it was something of a hollow home victory, mainly because there were no overseas representatives among a six-strong field but also since it failed to produce a clear-cut winner, the two longest-priced runners filling the first two places in a three-way photo finish.

One can only imagine that the trainers of some of the also-rans from the less valuable Solario Stakes at Sandown on Saturday were left wishing they had rerouted to Longchamp rather than take part in a race that turned out to be Too Darn Hot!

That said, the Rochette was still a famous result for trainer Jane Soubagné, as the Wootton Bassett colt, The Black Album, one of just 20 horses she trains near Bordeaux at La Teste, became her first group winner by getting the better of a good duel with Tojik by a short-head, with the fast-finishing Ecolo just a head back in third.

“This was my first runner in group company but we didn’t come here just to make up the numbers,” Soubagné said. “A 100% strike rate in pattern races, I’d better hand in my licence right now!”

Dunlop’s run continues

Lambourn Harry Dunlop has won more prize money in France than England in five of the last seven seasons and he followed up last month’s big money Deauville win with Knight To Behold when Jackfinbar took the other Group 3 on the Longchamp card, the Prix de Lutece for three-year-olds over one mile and seven furlongs.

Remarkably, Jackfinbar has started at 25/1 or bigger in each of his last two British starts, in handicaps off marks of 78 and 91, yet here he was justifying second favouritism in a Group 3 with a comfortable two-length defeat of the favourite, Ziyad.

SOUDAN Breakthrough

Following on from Watson and Soubagné, further breakthrough successes were achieved in recent listed races by both the young Chantilly handler Josephine Soudan, and the much more mature British trainer Jason Ward, who had spent time with the likes of James Fanshawe in England, Patrick Biancone in America and Mick O’Toole in Ireland before setting up on his own in Yorkshire in 2011.

Soudan’s big moment came at Longchamp on Sunday with Maroubra in the Prix de Liancourt, a three-year-old fillies event over an extended mile and a quarter.

“Maroubra was the first yearling to be sent to me when I started training in 2016 and her owner [Jean-Louis Bouchard] told me that she had cost only €10,000 rather than her true price of €100,000 as he didn’t want to put any pressure on me!” Soudan said.

“We will see how she comes out of this before thinking about the Prix de Royallieu [on October 6th].”

Ward’s triumph came on Monday down in Craon, meaning a 1,200-mile round trip from his base in Middleham. He saddled the five-year-old French-bred gelding, Maifalki, to land the €30,000 first prize on offer in the Grand Prix de la Ville de Craon.