PARISLONGCHAMP
SATURDAY
7.00 JUDDMONTE GRAND PRIX DE PARIS (GROUP 1 3YO COLTS & FILLIES) 1M 4F
Aidan and Donnacha O’Brien and Ryan Moore will be hot-footing it from the Darley July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday afternoon in order to take part in the evening’s Bastille Day celebrations at ParisLongchamp and the Group 1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris.
The O’Brien family are responsible for half the field as, alongside Aidan’s Kew Gardens (Ryan) and Nelson (Donnacha), Donnacha’s brother Joseph saddles Downforce, who will be ridden for the first time by Christophe Soumillon. Their opposition will consist of the Investec Derby runner-up, Dee Ex Bee, and just two French-trained colts, Neufbosc and Folamour.
Kew Gardens and Nelson are dropping back in trip having finished first and third, separated by almost five lengths, in the Group 3 Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot over an extra two furlongs.
But Nelson came out on top in their two previous meetings, when second and sixth in a maiden at the Curragh last August and when grabbing the top two spots in a Group 3 at Leopardstown a month later.
CAMELOT
Downdraft is closely related to Kew Gardens as Kew Gardens’s dam, the 2004 Moyglare Stud Stakes heroine, Chelsea Rose, is a half-sister to this Camelot colt, who will be making his stakes race debut. He followed up victory in the valuable Royal County Handicap at Navan with a sixth place, under second top-weight, in the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot.
André Fabre is in form and must always be feared, but Folamour, his candidate here, has run in nothing stronger than a maiden race, taking four attempts to break his duck. So the spearhead of the pitifully small French ‘team’ is Neufbosc, a steadily-improving son of Mastercraftsman, trained by Pia Brandt, who posted a career best effort when recording a convincing success in last month’s Group 3 Prix du Lys over this course and distance.
Which brings us to Dee Ex Bee. His Epsom effort was a doughty one, as he was beaten only a length and a half and had last weekend’s Eclipse principals, Roaring Lion and Saxon Warrior, behind.
POSITIVE RIDE
His subsequent run in the Irish Derby, when beaten five lengths into seventh, tempers enthusiasm for his chances somewhat, but that looked a messy affair and Dee Ex Bee will surely be ridden more positively this time.
Unless the Investec Derby from is weak, a repetition of it here should be enough to secure him victory and give trainer Mark Johnston compensation for Permian’s agonising near miss when beaten a nose into second in this 12 months ago.
SELECTION: DEE EX BEE
Next best: Neufbosc
PRIX MAURICE DE NIEUIL (GROUP 2 4YO+) 1M 6F
The other Bastille night feature is the Prix Maurice de Nieuil, a mile and three-quarter older horse Group 2 event with a competitive field of six. This should be fought out between last season’s Group 1 Prix Royal Oak winner, Ice Breeze, and the Hughie Morrison-trained British raider, Marmelo.
They met over a furlong longer here in May, when Marmelo fared much the better to chase home Vazirabad, with Ice Breeze almost 20 lengths adrift. The margin should be nowhere near as big this time but Marmelo can go one better than last year, when he found only subsequent Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Talismanic too strong.
MAISONS-LAFFITTE
SUNDAY
GRAND PRIX DE MAISONS-LAFFITTE (GROUP 2 3YO) 1M 2½F
The spotlight moves to Maisons-Laffitte on Sunday, when the wisdom of staging a three-year-old Group 2 over an extended mile and a quarter less than 24 hours after a Group 1 for three-year-olds over a mile and a half is called into question by the attraction of a field of just five in the Prix Eugene Adam.
It could have been worse – two of the combatants, including the no-hoper, Moonlightchampagne, were only supplemented into the line-up on Thursday.
John Gosden will be bidding for his fourth win in this race with Crossed Baton but may have to give best to the Prix du Jockey-Club third, Louis D’Or.