Held at Chantilly Racecourse for only the second year, having previously been one of the highlights of the year at the recently-closed Maisons-Laffitte, the Group Two Darley Prix Robert Papin (14.50) is the focus of Sunday’s fantastic nine-race card.
Temperatures have been close to 30 C at the picturesque Parisian track this weekend and a change in the official going of ‘soft’ can be expected.
Our man in France Jason Kiely takes us through the power-packed feature race and also points out a couple to notes elsewhere on the quality card.
Is the force too strong in Atomic?
The seven previous runnings of the Group Two Darley Prix Robert Papin have seen a British-trained horse scoop the €74,100 winner's cheque and this year looks no different.
Only two of the nine declared runners in this top two-year-old contest hail from Britain but all eyes will be firmly fixed on Kevin Ryan’s ATOMIC FORCE, the hot favourite.
The son of Cotai Glory left his rivals stunned when taking the Group Three Prix Du Bois (over course and distance) by five lengths last month and will join the likes of A’Ali, Tis Marvellous, Gutifan and Kool Kompany if taking the feature this afternoon.
That five-length success came in the hands of veteran French jockey Stephane Pasquier, who takes the ride again, and if the pair produce a repeat of that performance four weeks ago, then it will not be a question of if – but more, how far?
Coming in off the back of a win at Hamilton, having been beaten on debut, Atomic Force burst out of the gates in the Prix Du Bois and was immediately placed in the lead by Pasquier. Travelling with extreme purpose, the gelding took no mercy and stretched on inside the final two furlongs, going on to score by five lengths at the line from Black Lives Matter (re-opposes), offering his sire Cotai Glory a first stakes victory.
A reproduction of that performance would see Atomic Force mark himself as one of Europe’s top two-year-olds and would notch up an eighth consecutive success in the Robert Papin for Britain and a first for Ryan, who has produced a steady flow of top-class winners across the Channel since Balthazar’s Gift took the Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte in November 2005.
Potential to threaten Ryan raider
Amongst Atomic Force’s eight rivals stand a handful of horses who have proven to also be on an highly-progressive curve (albeit less impressive than the favourite).
DIABLOTINE comes into this with an impressive 100% strike-rate and took a Vichy Listed race with ease. Although impressive, the daughter of Kodi Bear won a race where the form hasn’t totally held up and at a non-Parisian racecourse.
TIPPERARY SUNSET went two from two when trained by John Quinn in the UK and has always looked like a step up in trip would suit the son of Ardad.
Bought by Alain Jathere, the colt is now trained in Chantilly by Pascal Bary, who is having a great season, and if Tipperary Sunset adapts to the French style of racing, he could be the dark horse of the field.
The Florian Guyader-trained PAPA DON’T PREACH ran a solid race at Deauville recently and has the capacity to improve on that run. He comes from a yard that has been hitting the board with their juveniles this season and is worth a second look.
Victor given chance by connections in Messidor
Dual Group One scorer VICTOR LUDORUM drops in both distance and class as he heads into the Group Three Pris Messidor a warm favourite for master trainer Andre Fabre.
The son of Shamardal was mightily impressive when taking the Group One Qatar Prix Jean Luc Lagardere and also the Emirates Poule d’Essai Des Poulains in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Both those races were over a mile and the colt returns to that distance here this weekend. He is without a win in five consecutive runs since that incredible Poule d’Essai success but the connections of Victor Ludorum won this race with Impulsif last season and will be hoping that the drop in grade will work the oracle for the talented four-year-old.
BREIZH EAGLE also takes part in the Messidor and the three-year-old claims 3.5kgs of an allowance from his elders. The son of Bow Creek looked very progressive in his first few runs but fluffed his lines recently. On what he did in the Poule d’Essai (when finishing a very close third) Breizh Eagle is worth a second chance and, with this weight advantage, could run a big race now pitched in against the older horses.
Rougir can benefit in Chloe
The Prix Chloe (15.25) has been taken by some good fillies and mares in the past (including Goldikova in 2008) and looks the perfect opportunity for ROUGIR to stamp her authority on her generation.
The daughter of Territories is trained by Group One-winning trainer Charly Rossi and takes a significant drop in class for the 1,800m contest. A game fifth in the Prix de Diane, Rougir has always suggested that a step above a mile will benefit her, although the 2,100m in the ‘Diane’ may have pushed her capabilities at such a high grade.
Already a winner at this track, Rougir should be perfectly suited by both the ground and the distance and comes into the Prix Chloe as the highest rated horse in the field. She also remains entered in the Group One Prix de Rothschild next month at Deauville and if she wins here it would be no surprise to see her line up in the blue riband event.
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