Deauville preview and tips Sunday July 28 | Rock has the Psyche on Sunday

Vichy verdict

With the month-long Deauville summer Festival now upon us – this Sunday’s Prix Rothschild is the first of five consecutive Sundays when there is top-class Group action before the meeting concludes on August 25 – there hasn’t been much in the way of Group race action in France preceding it over the past 10 days or so, but there has been no shortage of Listed races, most notably at Vichy where they held their week-long summer Festival last week.

The handful of British visitors didn’t really make their presence felt, but there were a few horses on display who will clearly be figuring in some top races in the autumn so a quick round-up is in order before concentrating on Sunday’s Deauville card.

The first of the Listed contests at Vichy was the Prix Frederic De Lagrange over 2400m for three-year-olds and went to the progressive Shamarkand (third win on the trot) under a masterful ride from Mikael Barzalona who moved him forward quickly into second place halfway down the back straight when clearly not happy with the steady pace, led 400m out and stayed on well. Second-placed Flywire and fourth-placed Darling Darling both ran the last 600m faster but were slower than the winner over the concluding 200m after the exertions of getting into the race took their toll.

By Harzand out of a Timeform 114-rated Group 3 winner, Shamarkand had his official rating raised to a Timeform-equivalent of 103 after the race, a little on the low side to me, and the Aga Khan-owned colt has engagements at Deauville in both the Prix Guillaume D'Ornano and the Grand Prix de Deauville.

The following day Mont De Soleil won the Prix Hubert Baguenault De Puchesse. By Siyouni out of a Dubawi mare, Mont de Soleil was having just her fourth run after being off the course for a year after her sole three-year-old start (and win) but the race was very steadily-run and isn’t form I’d want to place any faith in with fourth-placed Ponty (exposed four-year-old) running the fastest last 600m despite having a mountain to climb on form and paying for that effort with a 15lb rise in his official handicap mark.

Ponty’s surprise effort up the middle of the track was the first solid hint that the inside rail wasn’t the place to be and subsequent results at the meeting need to be viewed with that caveat in mind.

Trafalgar Square looked the one to beat in the sole Group contest at the meet, the Group 3 Grand Prix de Vichy, for example, having finished second to Calandagan in the Prix Hocquart back in May, but, one of six in a line with 200m to run, he wasn’t on the right part of the track and went down to Quest The Moon who hadn’t won in France since 2022 but took full advantage of racing widest of all (George Boughey’s Persist ran very well on her first run since leaving William Haggas given she stayed too far towards the inside).

There wasn’t much of interest going on in the Prix Sealiway or the Prix Madame Jean Couturie with the respective winners La Guapisima (third win on the trot after running easily the fastest last 600m) and Start Of Day (also winning her third race in succession) both raised subsequently to Timeform equivalent marks of 100, but the Prix Jacques De Bremond saw an interesting winner in the shape of another Aga Khan horse, Elamaz.

He‘d overcome significant trouble in running to win a handicap at Saint-Cloud on his previous run and met trouble again here, but despite the track bias took his form to a new level by beating the former Charlie Appleby-trained Mountain Song despite being making his challenge close to the inside rail. He’s got an engagement in the Group 3 Prix Quincey at Deauville and I’d be very wary of taking him lightly in that contest given the strong bias he overcame here.

La Teste De Buch

Track position was also important at La Teste where the two listed races last Sunday were both won by those racing widest. Karl Burke sent Pontefract winner Unspoken Love over to run in the Criterium Du Bequet but she ended up more towards the inside whereas the eventual winner Fraise des Bois raced much wider than her rivals and cleared right away though clearly flattered to some degree by her seven-length winning margin as well as her 108 post-race official rating.

The effect of that manoeuvre wasn’t lost on the riders in the following Prix Sorrelina with the unfancied winner Pemba Bay, no closer than seventh in similar company previously, allowed to set a steady pace, grabbing the near rail and winning by four lengths. Another performance to be wary of.

Stars shines at Compiegne

At Compiegne last Monday, Prix Guillaume D’Ornano entry Map Of Stars put himself right into contention for that race, and probably something better, with an ultimately smooth win in the Listed Prix Pelleas over 2000m on his belated reappearance.

The winner of his sole start last year, at Paris Longchamp in October when he had the now Timeform 109-rated pair Mondo Man and Internaute back in third and fourth, he understandably looked rusty before knuckling down well in the shortish straight. A line through those horses gives him a tenuous collateral rating of 114 for all he didn’t run to that level here, but neither did he need to and this exciting colt by Sea The Stars out of the Prix Vermeille winner Bateel seems likely to achieve at least that level by his own efforts when stepped up to a mile and a half.

Deauville preview

Hopefully there won’t be as much track bias at play at Deauville this Sunday where the feature event is the Prix Rothschild for fillies and mares over the straight mile. Three-year-olds have won this race five times since 2010, most recently in 2021 with Mother Earth, as well as providing the runner-up on six occasions but that record seems unlikely to be improved this year with the only three-year-old Ribaltagaia an extremely optimistic entry.

Ireland send two over in the shape of Ocean Jewel and Rogue Millennium who have already met twice already this season with the score one apiece, Rogue Millennium’s fifth compared to Ocean Jewel’s 11th in the Duke of Cambridge last time a better guide to their respective merits than their messy Ridgewood Pearl clash earlier in the season, but the four-strong home defence headed up by 2023 winner Mqse de Sevigne looks formidable.

Mqse de Sevigne comes into this renewal a much better mare than she was filly last year with two wins under her belt including in the Prix d’Ispahan last time when she beat Horizon Dore (as well as the re-opposing Blue Rose Cen) although would probably only have finished second had the runner-up not come from so far back.

Even so, Horizon Dore franked the form when third subsequently in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Ascot and she’s the one to beat even if the drop back to a straight mile in a race lacking obvious pace might not suit her ideally having suffered her only defeat since last year’s win at the hands of Inspiral in the Chariot Stakes.

Dual French classic winner Blue Rose Cen would have very solid claims on that form but a bizarre change of stable this season looks to have backfired, and Kelina is probably a bigger danger. She was only eighth of nine in this race in 2023 but showed a remarkable turn of foot subsequently to win the Prix de la Foret, beating Kinross, and shaped very well on her sole start this year when a free-running third behind the much more prominently-ridden King Gold in the Prix de la Porte Maillot. The faster the ground the better for her so rain there on Thursday and showers in the forecast might not suit mindful that she’s possibly a better filly at 1400m than 1600m too.

The biggest surprise in the five-runner Prix Cabourg, the first of the three supporting Group races, is that there’s no runner from the Karl Burke stable given his dominance in the French juvenile races in which he has been represented this season.

British representation comes instead courtesy of Alice Haynes, who runs her Ascot runner-up and subsequent Italian Listed winner Naana’s Diamond, and Richard Fahey who runs Coventry third Columnist.

The drop back to 1200m will likely suit Columnist who wasn’t going anywhere in the last furlong of the Superlative and I’d imagine he'll just about have the beating of Daylight who ended up paying for trying to go with subsequent Prix Robert Papin winner Arabie in the Prix du Bois last time.

The field is completed by a pair who met on French Oaks Day at Chantilly last month, Polyvega and Apollo Fountain. The former got the better of that argument by two and a half lengths with another three and a half back to the third, but the physically-impressive Apollo Fountain pulled hard held up well behind Polyvega that day, quickened past all bar the winner in the penultimate 200m then wasn’t given a hard time when he wasn’t going to catch the winner. He’s since been successful in the Listed Prix Yacowlef when he again showed a storming turn foot having been dropped out last racing keenly, easily beating Karl Burke’s Super Sprint fourth Kaaadi, and he shouldn’t be troubled by the step up to 1200m.

Taking a Swing

Just five runners go to post as well for the Group 3 Prix de Psyche, for three-year-old fillies over 2000m. Rose Jaipur heads the official ratings courtesy of her win in the Listed Prix Melisand at Paris Longchamp last month (where she had the reopposing Almara back in third and sectional upgrades suggest she was value for another 4lb over and above that filly) though she wasn’t at that level in the Prix Eugene Adam last time when well held by Bright Picture.

Topping the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings, however, albeit jointly, is a filly I’ve mentioned in dispatches before, Rock’N Swing, and this could be the time she finally gets her head in front in Group company. She ran easily the fastest last 200m in her reappearance win when having subsequent French 1000 winner Rouhiya back in third and then ran the fastest last 600m behind Rouhiya in that classic when too far back from a bad draw yet was only beaten two lengths.

The only filly that ran the last 200m faster that day was Sparkling Plenty who subsequently won the French Oaks next time when Rock’N Swing met some trouble from another wide draw. I doubt lack of stamina beat her that day given she’s by Shamardal out of Camelot mare and there will be no excuses in this smaller field. There are no prices available at the time of writing, but I’d make her a bet at 2/1 or bigger.

The final Group race of the afternoon is the Prix Six Perfections for two-year-old fillies over 1400m and has attracted six entrants.

Royalty Bay looks easily the better of the two-pronged British challenge and the Albany sixth (winner of both her races either side including at York last time out) sets a good standard. Home-trained Miss Lacouma, a winner over 1400m at Vichy last week, surprisingly has the same official rating as Royalty Bay having only won a modest claimer at Vittel two starts back, and a bigger danger will surely be Angeal who is unbeaten in two starts, including at this trip, and displayed a good attitude at Saint-cloud last time. Bravo Bay, who showed a good attitude when finally getting off the rail into the clear at Saint-Cloud last time, and Relaxx who made all the running to score at Chantilly last time complete the field.

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