Longchamp Sunday

7.25pm Cyrgames Grand Prix de Paris (Group 1) (3yo Colts & Fillies) 1m 4f

Tactics, or more precisely the ability to ensure that the race is run at a steady pace on the likely fast ground and is therefore not a true test of stamina over a mile and four furlongs, may prove the deciding factor which allows Trinity College to get the better of his main rival, New Ground, and land the Group 1 Cyrgames Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp tomorrow evening.

Aidan O’Brien has a fine record in this race since it was upped to its current distance in 2005, winning it five times, most recently in 2020 with Mogul, and saddling the runner-up in three of the four years since.

This time around he relies on Trinity College, the only overseas representative in a field of six who posted a new personal best on his one previous visit to France when making the running and then staying on gallantly when headed to finish fourth, just a length behind his triumphant stablemate, Camille Pissarro, in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club.

He then went to Royal Ascot and again played ‘catch me if you can’ (a question which was answered with a resoundingly negative response) when breaking his pattern race duck by three and a half lengths in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes.

Jockey Ryan Moore will be well aware that this son of Dubawi and the brilliant miler Hermosa is stretching out beyond a mile and two for the first time so we can expect him to be given a waiting ride in front. With dry, hot conditions forecast and Longchamp’s relatively short home straight, such tactics should be rewarded even if Trinity College’s ability to cope with a truly-run mile and four furlongs remain unclear.

Rapid tempo

The Henri-Francois Devin-trained New Ground would, by contrast, prefer a rapid tempo.

This New Bay colt could yet prove to be one of the biggest stars of his generation, given that he did pretty much everything wrong in the Group 1 Derby at Epsom, pulling hard and coming from miles back in a race where prominent runners were heavily favoured, so did extremely well to finish fourth.

That form has worked out well, but he may again be at the mercy of horses with a better turn of foot and, just as significantly, is likely to be racing on firmer ground than he would prefer.

Best of the remainder could be Uther, from the Christophe Ferland yard, a Camelot half-brother to the 2024 winner of this race, Sosie, who should relish this longer trip having finished strongly into third in the Group 3 Prix Greffulhe when last seen nine weeks ago.

SELECTION: TRINITY COLLEGE

Next best: New Ground