THE return to action of the former National Stakes hero Thunder Moon lent this fixture a considerable degree of interest but the Group 1 performer was upstaged by a resurgent Pretreville in the seven-furlong conditions race.

Although the latter went off at 12/1 after finishing down the field in two starts for Adrian McGuinness last autumn, he had plenty of quality French form to his name. He is a former Group 3 scorer with his Group 2 efforts including a second to Persian King, and he also boasted three wins from his four starts on the all-weather in France.