The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing colourbearer was fourth in the G3 Oh So Sharp S. in October, and was making her eighth start on Mar. 16.

“She was good, I think the fashion of her win was a bit surprising but it didn't surprise me that she won,” he said of the six-length winner.

“She's done as well as anything over the winter, she was a frame of a horse last year and she's going to go back to France for the French 1000 Guineas trial–the Prix de la Grotte at ParisLongchamp.

“She's come out of her race really good, she's eligible for French premiums and I didn't put her in the English Guineas intentionally as we're working back for the French Guineas.”

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That applies to several of the star colts and fillies lining up for the first domestic Classics and it is certain to be no worse than the testing going that Isaac Shelby (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) had to deal with at Newbury last time. Leading home the riderless Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in his last race in the Sangster silks in the seven-furlong G3 Greenham S., Wathnan Racing's acquisition was adding to his fast-ground G2 Superlative S. success as a juvenile, so versatility is assured.

Brian Meehan has spent a while in the Classic wilderness and this is a key moment for the Manton-based trainer who last enjoyed Group 1 success 11 years ago. “He has been working great,” he said. “The Guineas was a nice form boost in a funny sort of way. I know they are saying it will be heavy ground, but it doesn't really matter what sort of ground we get–we are going to get whatever we get. The thing is, he is there on good-to-firm and soft, so we'll take our chance.”

Flying The Flag

France's defence of the Poulains may rest with Malcolm Parrish's American Flag (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who beat the re-opposing Kendly (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) in convincing fashion in the Listed Prix Omnium II at Saint-Cloud in March before following up in the course-and-distance G3 Prix de Fontainebleau last month. That form has taken a knock subsequently and there is no telling at the moment how good Yann Barberot's stable star is. “The horse is in great shape,” his trainer said. “He appreciates the very soft terrain and he has a very good mentality. He knows Longchamp and I am confident for Sunday.”

Good Knight?

Trailing Isaac Shelby in the Greenham, KHK Racing's TDN Rising Star Knight (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) has to rebound with the form of his G3 Horris Hill S. now also looking to have more holes in it than at the start of the season. Whether the deep promise of his Yarmouth debut can be fulfilled is the burning question for Simon and Ed Crisford. “I don't know what happened at Newbury to be honest, but the horse has bounced out of the Greenham,” Ed Crisford said. “He just didn't go a yard and there's nothing much to say about that other than it was very disappointing. He seems to have come alive and come on for that race, so he's going to France and hopefully he can run a big race albeit he has to prove it now.”

Anybody's Guess

On the face of it, Hisaaki Saito's Good Guess (GB) (Kodiac {GB})) has something to find even allowing for his G3 Prix Djebel success from TDN Rising Star Breizh Sky (Fr) (Pedro The Great) and Fabrice Chappet would not have been heartened by the draw in eight. What effect that post position will have this year, with only 10 runners, remains to be seen and Breizh Sky is even wider in the outside stall. Alain Jathiere's colour-bearer is beginning to look a habitual “nearly horse” and he needs a strong pace to run at, which is not guaranteed here.

Trainer Alessandro Botti is clinging on to hope that things will fall right for Breizh Sky at some point. “The forecast very soft ground shouldn't be a problem for him, as he finished third in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere when there was plenty of give,” he said. “His comeback effort in the Prix Djebel was quite good, but the race was devoid of pace and things panned out perfectly for Good Guess.”

An Unfolding Story

When Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) encountered Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) in the course-and-distance G1 Prix Marcel Boussac, it was Yeguada Centurion SL's homebred who held the bragging rights but there was something in the seasonal return of Ballydoyle's blueblood that suggested it would be a lot closer as they re-engage in the Pouliches. Overwhelming the subsequent 1000 Guineas third Matilda Picotte (Ire) (Sioux Nation) and G3 Cournelsourt S. scorer Zarinsk (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) in Leopardstown's G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial S., the descendant of Urban Sea (Miswaki) will be a different proposition for Christopher Head's stable luminary to handle this time.

Looking Out For Lindy

Surrendering her unbeaten record to Blue Rose Cen in the G3 Prix de la Grotte over this course and distance last month, Everest Racing, Ecurie Waldeck and Meridian International's Lindy (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) hails from a family of soft-ground lovers and trainer Christophe Ferland is keen to have another go at the favourite. “Since her debut, Lindy has done nothing but improve,” he said. “She had a good winter and her comeback effort in the Prix de la Grotte was very good. She is very easy to handle and I harbour no worries about her ability to act over course and distance. She is a daughter of Le Havre and so I don't feel that the ground will be a hindrance to her. Depending on how she fares on Sunday, I hope to run her in the Prix de Diane. I have even entered her in the Arc, because I think that in time and given greater maturity that longer trips will be within her compass.”

Can Kelina Rebound?

It seems a long time ago that the Wertheimers' TDN Rising Star Kelina (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was favourite for the Marcel Boussac and although she was last in that contest put up a fine comeback effort behind Quickstep (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the course-and-distance Prix du Louvre conditions race last month. From the family of Dansili's Group 1 winners With You (GB) and We Are (Ire) and Frankel's Call The Wind (GB), the Carlos Laffon-Parias-trained homebred will be staying on when some have cried enough.

Jannah Rose Poised For Saint-Alary Test

Frankel might already have had a big afternoon by the time the G1 St Mark's Basilica Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary comes around, where his unbeaten daughter Jannah Rose (Ire) will be a warm order to build on her quietly-dominant display in the nine-furlong G3 Prix Vanteaux here last month. Al Shira'aa Farms' €650,000 Goffs Orby sensation is developing a formidable reputation which will be put to the test here by some talented fillies including Ballydoyle's Boogie Woogie (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). A daughter of the Irish Oaks heroine Seventh Heaven (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), she came up against the stable's kingpin Savethelastdance (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) at Leopardstown two starts back when the pick of Ryan Moore which gives an indication as to the regard in which she is held. There will be some surprised people if Elusive Princess (Fr) (Martinborough {Jpn}) can't reverse the form of the G3 Prix Cleopatre with Crown Princesse (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), with LNJ Foxwoods purchasing a half-share in the former after her luckless run. Both have been supplemented, but both have to raise their game to reward that decision.

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Two-for-two at Meydan after victories on Jan. 27 and Feb. 24, the royal blue silksbearer is pleasing bin Suroor since her latest effort.

Bin Suroor said, “She ran really well [on Feb. 24]. She won over six furlongs in England and she came back here over seven furlongs, the way she worked in the morning I thought she could stay the mile. It was worth a try and she was really impressive, she won it easily. She's a tiny filly but she has plenty of speed, she's by Exceed And Excel.”

The Godolphin filly broke her maiden at first asking, earning her 'Rising Star' moniker by 4 3/4 lengths at Newmarket on May 14, and was second in the G3 Albany S. at Royal Ascot behind subsequent GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) in June. She earned a group rosette herself with a half-length victory over future Group 1 winner Lezoo (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) in the G2 Duchess Of Cambridge S. in July, but finished fourth in the G2 Lowther S. a month later. Her final 2022 appearance was a third to Lezoo and Meditate in the G1 Cheveley Park S. at Newmarket on Sept. 24.

“There are options to run her in the French or the English Guineas, one of those will be the next target with her,” he said. “The way she's done it, she's definitely improved, she did it so well. She's grown a little bit out in Dubai and she's a better filly now. To run her in the Guineas is a bigger step, but we will have a chance.”

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Another filly out of a Classic is Group 3 winner Hermana Estrella (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), who will miss the G1 French 1000 Guineas on Sunday and instead point for the Irish equivalent on May 22, as trainer Fozzy Stack deemed the underfoot conditions to be too dry for his filly. Although she has only made one start, the Paul Smith, Joe Poulin and J. Carthy colourbearer made it count, taking the G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint S. at Naas last May.

“It was just the weather forecast,” he said. “The forecast is very dry and very hot for the weekend in Paris–around 28C or 29C–and so we are just going to wait for the Curragh on the following Sunday. She is in good form.”

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One race later on the stakes-laden card, in the €600,000 G1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains, 16 have been declared and Godolphin's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) will seek to provide Charlie Appleby with a breakthrough in the contest. He has drawn box four. Alongside in three is Jean-Claude Rouget trainee and TDN Rising Star Lassaut (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}), six across from his G3 Prix de Fontainebleau-winning stablemate Welwal (GB) (Shalaa {Ire}) in nine.

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Toy, a sister to seven black-type horses, including 2,000 Guineas winner Gleneagles (Ire), got off the mark at the third attempt over seven furlongs at Cork last month but O'Brien is of the opinion that she will be seen to best effect when stepping up to a mile or even ten furlongs in time.

The Acropolis won just one of his eight starts as a juvenile but created a big impression on his return when chasing home Dr Zempf (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the 2000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown last month.

Speaking ahead of his two-pronged attack on ParisLongchamp, O'Brien said, “We are going to aim The Acropolis for the [French] 2000 Guineas and Toy will run in the 1,000 Guineas.

“We thought the world of The Acropolis last year but I couldn't get him to do anything but we were delighted by his return at Leopardstown. He ran home well to finish second in the 2000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown. I don't  think we'll over-race him this year. Maybe we over-raced him a little last year, so it will be interesting to see what he does at the weekend. He's a horse with plenty of speed so he shouldn't have any problem around Longchamp.”

On Toy, he added, “Toy is from a fantastic family. They are not slow and, while it looks like she will get the mile quite well, I think she could be even better over ten furlongs. I thought she could be a French Guineas filly and then she might develop into a Diane filly. We raced her over seven furlongs and from a bad draw purposefully at Cork, just to see would she be able to do it with a view towards the French Guineas, and I thought she did it well. It will be interesting to see how she gets on.

“I'm not sure if she'd get a mile and a half. I think she'll get 10 furlongs alright, but a mile and a half, I'm not sure. You need a filly that will go along at a good gallop and one who can quicken–it's a tough race.”

It is also a big week for the sprinting fraternity at Ballydoyle. Commonwealth Cup-bound colts King Of Bavaria (Ire) (No Nay Never), Cadamosto (Ire) (No Nay Never) and New York City (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) will advertise their Royal Ascot claims this week with O'Brien keen to keep the speedsters apart.

He said, “There are three sprint races this week and I think we will divide King Of Bavaria, Cadamosto and New York City up in each. If the ground looked like it was going to come up slow at Naas we could look at running Cadamosto there and send the other two to England. I'd like Ryan to ride all three of them. They are all in the mix for the Commonwealth Cup.”

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Trainer Ralph Beckett said, “Angel Bleu certainly won't run [in the Guineas]. He is going to go to France. He is in good shape. It is just the ground.

“There is the slight element that the form book indicates all his best form is round a bend. There is an element of that as well.”

In other Guineas news, trainer Dermot Weld indicated that Apr. 2 G3 Ballylinch Stud “Priory Belle” 1000 Guineas Trial S. victress Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) would skip the fillies' equivalent in Newmarket and wait for the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

“I just feel that she might appreciate more time since her group win at Leopardstown and her style of running might suit Longchamp better than Newmarket,” Weld told Racing Post of the Moyglare Stud homebred on Wednesday.

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Tweenhills Stud's David Redvers co-owns the filly under the Everest Racing banner and said, “She is on course for the 1000 Guineas, although it is a nervous week running up to it. If there was any doubt about running at Newmarket before, the Inspiral news would have dispelled it completely.

“She won the Prix Imprudence, which is the French Guineas trial, and according to her trainer she has come on significantly for that run, is in the peak of health and we just hope she can spend this last week incident-free and arrive at Newmarket in the form she is currently in at home.”

A progressive type that has never been off the board in six starts, Malavath won a Chantilly conditions heat in September before a score in the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte one month later. Shipped to California for Del Mar's Breeders' Cup meeting, the Francis-Henri Graffard charge was only a half-length behind Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 5. She resumed with a 1 1/2-length tally in the Prix Imprudence on Apr. 7.

“She won the Prix Impudence on heavy ground, there is no getting away from that, but she also ran in the Breeders' Cup on fast ground,” he added. “We always felt she would be inconvenienced by heavy ground and we were very worried about running her before that in the Criterium de Maison-Laffitte in very soft ground [which she won].

“One of the things that makes her particularly interesting is she seems to have an extraordinary ability to handle any conditions and a temperament that most trainers would die for.”

“The Breeders' Cup was firm ground, although it is a very different thing running on the Rowley Mile to running round a bend at Del Mar,” he said. “There are pedigree question marks surrounding the sire rather than anything else. But she is one of the few with a genuinely steep climb in her form figures and she seems to have improved again.

“Francis is extremely positive about her chance and never questioned running at Newmarket. I thought the obvious bet would be to go to the [G1] Poule d'Essai des Pouliches [on May 15], but he has always been adamant that this is where she is coming–he thinks she is as good as there is, and wants to prove it.”

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