Desmond Stoneham

CHANTILLY - SUNDAY

A POOR turn out for the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris at Chantilly tomorrow as just four runners will be in the line-up which means the fifth purse of €4,550 goes begging. Happily, there were two supplements into the mile and a half event which is considered the poor relation of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

One Foot In Heaven won the race last year and his talented dam, Pride, back in 2004. The son of Fastnet Rock ran 11th to Enable in the Arc earlier in the month and sixth to Found in Europe’s richest race the year before. One Foot In Heaven was a well-beaten second in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket in May and then had a training setback which kept him off the track until September when he was runner-up in La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte.

A supplement, Soleil Marin was purchased by Godolphin after his win in a listed race at Saint-Cloud. He then won the Group 3 Prix Noailles by a narrow margin from stablemate Akihiro who takes up the challenge again.

Whereas Soleil Marin has done little since, Akihiro recently won over tomorrow’s distance for the first time in a listed race at Saint-Cloud. Traffic Jam was pulled out of the Prix de Royallieu and has now been supplemented. She was runner-up to the former English-trained Bateel in the Prix de Pomone but further behind the same filly when fourth in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille. Tactics are sure to play a considerable role in the result of this race.

William Haggas has obtained the services of Maxime Guyon for Crystal River in the Listed Prix Casimir Delamarre and Christophe Soumillon will ride Stormy Antarctic for Ed Walker in the Listed Prix du Ranelagh. Both these English-trained horse should be in the money.

SELECTION: ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN

Next best: Akihiro