ParisLongchamp and Baden-Baden are the vital ingredients for a Champions Day hangover cure with the former's €130,000 G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris taking centre stage as Europe's Sunday highlight. The 11-furlong contest's honour roll includes G1SW globetrotters Vallee Enchantee (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), Pride (Fr) (Peintre Celebre) and Cirrus des Aigles (Fr) (Even Top {Ire}), but this year's edition lacks for that calibre of entrant.
Likely favourite in an open affair is AB Racing and Ecurie Ades Hazan's G1 Prix Ganay fourth Monty (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), who sandwiched a short-head second in Deauville's Aug. 15 G3 Prix Gontaut Biron with wins in the May 29 Listed Grand Prix de Bordeaux and Strasbourg's Sept. 19 Listed Grand Prix de la Region Est. He was also declared for Baden-Baden's G3 Baden-Wurttemberg-Trophy earlier in the day and the Andreas Schutz incumbent skips that engagement in favour of this tougher assignment.
Half of Andre Fabre's record eight victories came before the turn of the century and the master conditioner has not enjoyed success since Manatee (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) saluted in 2014. He relies on Edouard de Rothschild's G3 Prix de Reux fourth Mr De Pourceaugnac (Fr) (Camelot {GB}), the only one of six contenders found wanting for black-type, who annexed conditions events at Deauville and Saint-Cloud in his two latest starts.
International flavour is added by last month's Listed Listowel S. winner Visualisation (Ire) (No Nay Never), representing Joseph O'Brien, and Jozef Chodur trainee Opasan (Ire) (French Navy {GB}), who was rewarded for his domination in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary with a stakes breakthrough in Vichy's July 20 Listed Prix Hubert Baguenault de Puchesse. He lines up off a sixth here in last month's G2 Prix Foy. Seachange (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), runner-up in last month's G3 La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte, and G2 Grand Prix de Deauville second The Good Man (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}) complete the line-up.
Supporting contests on the Bois de Boulogne venue's nine-race card include the nine-furlong Listed Prix Casimir Delamarre for 3-year-old and older fillies, the one-mile Listed Prix du Ranelagh for 3-year-olds and up, and a pair of intriguing newcomers' heats. In Ireland, the Listed Garnet S. and Listed Bluebell S. are the feature events on an eight-race card at Naas.
Grewe Looking To Plug A Gap
Germany's main action focuses on the juvenile fillies' division with an open edition of Baden-Baden's G3 Die Winterkonigin – Preis des Derbysiegers Sisfahan, the recently rebranded Preis der Winterkonigin, one of two pattern-race events headlining the Iffezheim venue's final programme of the season. The Henk Grewe stable's celebrations were cut short in the aftermath of Sea Bay (Ger)'s stunning nine-length romp in last week's G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten, the son of New Bay (GB) since undergoing surgery on a fractured near fore, and the trainer is double-handed for a one-mile contest he won last year with Noble Heidi (Fr) (Intello {Ger}).
Grewe, who was in attendance at Tattersalls' October Book 2 sale this week, has nominated Ecki Sauren's Deauville maiden winner Lacuna (GB) (Shalaa {Ire}), who ran third behind 'TDN Rising Star' Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in a piping hot one-mile conditions heat at Chantilly last month, and Gestut Karlshof's homebred dual scorer Atomic Blonde (Ger) (The Grey Gatsby {Ire}), who bagged a brace of €52,000 BBAG sales-related heats at Dortmund in her two most recent outings. Atomic Blonde's dam Alwina (Ger) (Areion {Ger}) snagged the same Dortmund auction races before running fifth in the 2016 edition of this and her yearling colt by Counterattack (Aus) secured the second-highest price of €75,000 at Friday's BBAG Racing & Festival sale.
Markus Klug plundered four consecutive renewals from 2015 through 2018 and sends forth the twice-raced maiden Enjoy The Dream (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who posted a runner-up finish in Cologne's Listed Winterkonigin-Trial last month. Peter Schiergen, who bids to secure a fourth victory of his own and a first since 2009, is represented by a pair of once-raced maiden winners. They are Gestut Ammerland's Barina (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who defeated subsequent winner and local hope Artemia (Declaration of War) over seven furlongs at Munich last month, and Gestut Haus Zoppenbroich's Lizaid (Ger) (Zarak {Fr}), whose debut win came in the same one-mile Hannover maiden won by 2018 heroine Whispering Angel (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}). That Sept. 19 race's second place went to Indian Sunset (Fr) (Areion {Ger}), whose trainer Jean-Pierre Carvalho secured his lone renewal with Ocean Fantasy (Fr) (Make Believe {GB}) in 2019. Gestut Wittekindshof's thrice-raced maiden Rosenart (GB) (Areion {GB}) is the only entry with pattern-race experience and ran fourth, for the Andreas Suborics stable, over seven furlongs in this track's Sept. 1 G3 Zukunftsrennen.
Sitting Chilly
Baden-Baden also plays host to the G3 Baden-Wurttemberg-Trophy and the 10-furlong test is a competitive affair, despite the defection of Monty (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) to ParisLongchamp's G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris. It took 10 attempts at black-type level for Gestut Brummerhof's Chilly Filly (Ger) (Makfi {GB}) to make a stakes breakthrough, doing so in September's Listed Baden-Baden Fillies Cup, and the 4-year-old homebred will line up returning off a third in Hoppegarten's G3 Preis der Deutschen Einheit earlier this month. Ecki Sauren's Only The Brave (Fr) (Iffraaj {GB}), who had earlier finished clear of Dato (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) when runner-up in August's G3 Spreti-Rennen, and Gestut Auenquelle's Daring Light (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) finished in Chilly Filly's wake in that Berlin test.
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