THE flat season in France kicked off with two decent contests in Saint Cloud last weekend when the Group 3 Prix Exbury was the highlight. It saw an impressive return to action by the grey gelding Skalleti. The son of Kendargent had split Addeyebb and Magical in the Champion Stakes last season and he took this with ease.

Trained in Provence, at Calas, by Jérôme Reynier, Skalleti won seven consecutive races on distances ranging from eight to 10 furlongs, including two successes at Group 2 level in France and Italy in 2019. Last year he also won the Group 3 Prix Gontaut-Biron beating subsequent Arc winner Sottsass and the Group 2 Prix Dollar on Arc weekend but was down the field in the Hong Kong Cup.