SUPERNAP STRIKES AT ODDS AGAINST AND THERE ARE MORE TODAY: Daqman landed his supernap at Chantilly yesterday with Simeen (WON 11-10). His outsiders were back-and-lay gems: when 17.0 BETDAQ offer Chant d’Automne got involved at the business end, there was 3.25 in running. Tudo Bem, also taken at 17.0, was easy to back at 40.0 in places before diving to 3.1, as he came on to the scene, finishing third at 20-1 SP. The ground dried up until four of the last five races were run faster than average. Longchamp today, where I chance two at supernap stakes, is reported good to soft but we’ve been had before this week!
ENGLISH RACING’S LATEST ROAD MAP
⚠️ HEADS UP English Racing has set new resumption targets after the government announcement that sport could begin again from June 1.
As forecast in this column, the Guineas would be on June 6 and 7, with the Derby and Oaks on July 4. Royal Ascot would keep its usual slot.
June 3-4 Classic Trials
June 5 Lingfield Derby and Oaks Trials
June 6 2,000 GUINEAS
June 7 1,000 GUINEAS
June 16-20 Royal Ascot
July 4 EPSOM DERBY and OAKS
July 5 Coral-Eclipse
⚠️ HEADS UP Irish Racing is scheduled to return on June 29 but there was optimism yesterday of an earlier start from June 8, now that ‘equestrian sports activity’ is being allowed from Monday.
The HRI is in negotiations via the department of agriculture to sign off on new proposals on Friday, mindful that France was leaving Ireland behind and England was ready with its own earlier restart plans.
RAABIHAH OUT OF THE CLASSIC MOULD
⚠️ HEADS UP Christophe Soumillon with a treble, and a double for Pierre-Charles Boudot at Chantilly yesterday, changed the leadership of the French jockeys’ table to: Boudot 43, Soumillon 40, Maxime Guyon 37
10.10 Longchamp Suddenly a Norman invasion of the French Classic scene! Jean-Claude Rouget, born in Normandy, and now with twin bases there at Deauville and in the south-west at Pau, landed a trials double when his 1,000 Guineas hope Simeen scored at Chantilly yesterday under Christophe Soumillon.
Presumably stable-jockey Cristian Demuro will be wanted in the Guineas for the same stable’s Flighty Lady, who runs in the Prix Vanteaux on this card today (11.10).
Only on Tuesday, Rouget had won a colt’s test at Saint-Cloud which put Port Guillaume in line for a crack at the French Derby.
No one has won more French Classics in the last five seasons than Demuro, the former champion jockey in Italy.
He rides Raabihah in this opener at Longchamp, a 1m 3f fillies’ Listed capable of throwing up an Oaks winner.
Likely to have been brought on by an easy January success on the Polytrack at Cagnes-sur-Mer, Raabihah is by Guineas, Derby and Arc winner Sea The Stars out of a granddaughter to Guineas and Oaks winner, Midway Lady.
PAO! MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU..
10.40 Longchamp (Prix La Force) Always a useful trial. The last winner to go on and take the French Derby was Saonois (2012) but the race is going for a Derby hat-trick of colts beaten in this but going on to Derby glory, following Study Of Man and Sottsass.
Andre Fabre has won the Force four times in the last 10 years and his Ocean Atlantique (Pierre-Charles Boudot) was an eight-lengths winner under hands-and-heels riding at Saint-Cloud in October.
Fabre hasn’t been in much form, and thinks this race is currently a tall order for his colt, but Fabre did win the Prix de la Grotte fillies trial here on Monday with Tropbeau.
Christophe Soumillon rides Pia Brandt’s Mkfancy, whom he himself beat at Chantilly in March when riding for Christophe Ferland.
Mkfancy, who likes to lead, won the Criterium de Saint-Cloud as a juvenile and is clearly classy but Ferland knows the form and now saddles the Intello colt Pao Alto (Maxime Guyon). Intello won the French Derby.
EMOJI OAKS TEAM HAVE SMILEY FACES 😊
11.10 Longchamp (Prix Vanteaux) Master-trainer Andre Fabre’s subsequent Sun Chariot star, Esoterique, was perhaps the best recent winner of this in 2013.
But one of the new kids on the training block, Francis Graffard, Alain de Royer-Dupre’s former assistant, is tipped to produce a top-line filly here in the unbeaten Emoji, bought out of Henk Grewe’s yard in Germany by the Team Valor group of international breeders.
Emoji responded immediately for her new stable by scoring impressively at Saint-Cloud in March under leading rider Pierre-Charles Boudot, and is on course for the French Oaks (Prix de Diane) on July 5
The only danger on known form is the Marcel Boussac third, Flighty Lady (Cristian Demuro), who has also changed yards, switching from Gavin Hernon to five times winner of this Vanteaux test, Jean-Claude Rouget, so the Lady is now a stablemate of trial winners Simeen and Port Guillaume.
But Rouget warns that Flighty Lady has taken some time to come back into training after the winter break and the expectations are for her to run ‘okay.’ That suggests we’ll see a smiley face from connections of Emoji!
GRAND CAN SLAM THE CLASSIC HOPES
11.40 Longchamp (Prix Zarkava) Francis Graffard’s old boss, Alain de Royer-Dupre, is responsible here for Dariyza, a Dawn Approach filly, one of two in this racing for the Aga Khan, who owned Zarkava herself, the 2008 Arc winner.
Dariyza has to give 4lb away and Christophe Soumillon rides Dariyma, from the same stable, though beaten by Pascal Bary’s Bolleville in November.
The Boudot mount, Grand Glory (BETDAQ 4.5) , has the best form, third in the French Oaks, but a fillies and mares Listed for four-year-olds at this time of year is always a hard race to decipher.
12.10 Longchamp Back to the three-year-olds, and a lesser trial. But this 7f Listed could be the best indicator of the day, with three French 2,000 Guineas possibles (Arapaho, Golden Boy and Tibasti) and three in the 1,000 (Mageva, Wootton Saga and Yamogi).
But one not Classically engaged, Sujet Libre ran second last summer to Lagardere runner-up and subsequent 20-lengths Criterium International winner, Alson.
The form has worked out since the resumption of racing and Sujet Libre must be a big danger to Arapaho, unless his trainer, Andre Fabre, has shown more form at this meeting so far.
DAQMAN’S BETS
10.10 Longchamp (supernap)
BET 20pts win RAABIHAH
10.40 Longchamp (win 10)
BET 3pts win PAO ALTO
11.10 Longchamp (supernap)
BET 20pts win EMOJI
11.40 Longchamp (win 10)
BET 3pts win GRAND GLORY
12.10 Longchamp (win 10)
BET 3pts win SUJET LIBRE
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