15.00 Kempton, £20,000, Mdn, 2yo, 8f (AWT)
Lady Bamford's homebred LORD OF LOVE (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is a son of G1 Prix de Diane victrix Star Of Seville (GB) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}) and represents John and Thady Gosden in this belated debut. He bypassed an intended engagement on heavy ground at Newmarket last Friday and is opposed by eight rivals here. They include the once-raced Alan King trainee Rakki (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who is a 100,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 half-brother to G1 St Leger hero Masked Marvel (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) and the dam of MG1SW sire Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).

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A winner of the G1 Prix de Diane, the 7-year-old is a daughter of the G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Magical Romance (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}). Carrying to Wootton Bassett (GB), the daughter of Love Magic (GB) (Dansili {GB}) is also from the same line as standouts Alexandrova (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), Philomene (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Pacifique (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}). Her eldest foal is the 2-year-old filly Million Miles Away (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), while her yearling colt is by Kingman (GB) and she has a Wootton Bassett filly born this year.

Bred by Kilcarn Stud, the €18,000 Goffs Orby yearling turned €70,000 Arqana May juvenile won half of her six starts and over $670,000 for Francis-Henri Graffard and Samuel de Barros.

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Granted, she had the ideal draw in one and an almost acting bodyguard in stablemate Wise Girl (Fr) (Recoletos {Fr}) to her left throughout the all-important early hustling stages of this race, but when push came to shove from the top of the straight the 16-5 favourite was all business once again. For a brief period passing the two pole, Ryan Moore looked as if he might make a fight of it on Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) but that threat was quickly extinguished as Aurelien Lemaitre disappeared into the distance. At the end of a renewal that had looked so strong on paper beforehand, there were notable disappointments such as the 10-3 second favourite Jannah Rose (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) who never entered contention and wound up sixth, but one dominant force whose hogging of all the headlines was throroughly deserved.

Blue Rose Cen wins the Prix de Diane!

More Classic glory at @fgchantilly for Christopher Head and @lemaitre60LA… pic.twitter.com/YvSoZUoOC1

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 18, 2023

With this Spring being a momentous and emotive time for the distinguished Head dynasty, it was even more fitting that Blue Rose Cen was to achieve her landmark 10 years on from the last of the family's Diane winners, the aforementioned Treve. For Christopher, it was a difficult thing to summarise. “I have a lot of thoughts for my grandparents today and I really hope they are looking down on this,” he said. “Blue Rose Cen is magical. Really. She changed my life. I see no imperfection in her–she is perfect overall, strong physically and with a strong mind. She runs with passion.”

Looking nothing like the group 1 star she has turned out to be when well beaten on her debut, ironically at this venue over an inadequate six furlongs last May, Blue Rose Cen spent the next two months building towards a black-type bow with wins at Saint-Cloud and Clairefontaine but met one marginally too good when the time came in Deauville's Listed Criterium du FEE. A short neck ahead of her that day was Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Ballydoyle's slow-burner who was on his own progressive course heading to eventual glory moments in the G3 Prix de Conde and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Buoyed rather than bowed by that experience, Blue Rose Cen went to ParisLongchamp four times and with each passing visit grew in stature through the varying demands of the G3 Prix d'Aumale, the Marcel Boussac, G3 Prix de la Grotte and Pouliches. It is back there where she could achieve true immortality in October, just as Allez France and Zarkava did before her and her strong-closing final three furlongs in 35.16 suggests she can pack at least most of her formidable punch in the country's great monument which is staged virtually always on the testing ground on which she has already proven so agile.

Head would not be drawn on a possible Arc bid in the immediate aftermath. “We will have to discuss the rest of the season–in a few days we will have a meeting with Yeguada Centurion to discuss her future, as we had a plan up until the Diane. The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a new distance and we will have a discussion and make a plan for the rest of the season.”

The Arc may also ultimately be the target for the third-placed 43-1 shot Tasmania (Ger) (Australia {GB}), Gestut Schlenderhan's stamina-endowed homebred who failed by a short head to get the silver medal and whose final three furlongs were run in an eye-catching 34.75 on a stunning black-type debut. It will also be a race to forget for connections of Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion), who faded to be last, TDN Rising Star Pensee Du Jour (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who also bowed out of the action early and ended up 13th, as well as the Pouliches runner-up Lindy (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) who had a prominent position but no answer to the winner's kick as she backtracked to finish eighth.

Pedigree Notes
Blue Rose Cen, who was providing her emerging-force second-season sire with a third Classic, is the only known foal to date out of the G3 Park Express S. and GIII Santa Barbara S. winner Queen Blossom (Ire) (Jeremy), a daughter of the G3 Silver Flash S.-placed Mark Of An Angel (Ire) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}). She in turn is a granddaughter of the 10-times-winning South African mare Grey Angel (GB) (Kenmare {Fr}), whose career included two of those at group 3 level and a runner-up finish in the G1 Gosforth Park Fillies & Mares Challenge H. This is also the family of the GI Arlington Washington Futurity hero Well Decorated and the prolific sire Distinctive.

Sunday, Chantilly, France
PRIX DE DIANE LONGINES-G1, €1,000,000, Chantilly, 6-18, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT, 2:05.09, g/s.
1–BLUE ROSE CEN (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Churchill (Ire)
1st Dam: Queen Blossom (Ire) (GSW-Ire & US, $220,859), by Jeremy
2nd Dam: Mark Of An Angel (Ire), by Mark Of Esteem (Ire)
3rd Dam: Dream Time (GB), by Rainbow Quest
O/B-Yeguada Centurion SLU (IRE); T-Christopher Head; J-Aurelien Lemaitre. €571,400. Lifetime Record: 9-7-1-0, €1,250,730. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Never Ending Story (Ire), 126, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Athena (Ire), by Camelot (GB). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €228,600.
3–Tasmania (Ger), 126, f, 3, Australia (GB)–Tusked Wings (Ire), by Adlerflug (Ger). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Gestut Schlenderhan (GER); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €114,300.
Margins: 4, SHD, HF. Odds: 3.20, 16.00, 43.00.
Also Ran: Wise Girl (Fr), Elusive Princess (Fr), Jannah Rose (Ire), Lady Ewelina (GB), Lindy (Fr), Romina Power (Fr), Caroline Street, Novakai (GB), Left Sea (GB), Pensee Du Jour (Ire), Khahira (Fr), Running Lion (GB). Video, sponsored by TVG.

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A debut winner at Doncaster, she was second in the G2 May Hill S. two starts later back at that venue in September and ended her year with another second-place effort, this time in the G1 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket a month later. She made her 2023 in the G3 Musidora S. at York last month, and once again found one too good in subsequent G1 Betfred Oaks heroine Soul Sister (Ire) (Frankel {GB}).

“She's on target for Prix de Diane, she looks in great shape,” said Burke, who won the 2018 edition with Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). “She's not a particularly strong work horse at home, but she does look in good form and we're very happy with her.

“The Musidora form obviously got a nice boost and she'll step up on that York form as well.”

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Trained by John and Thady Gosden for Imad Al Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud, the bay is in good form, and, if the ground is unsuitable at York, she could be re-routed to the G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury two days later.

“She stays in training and has wintered well,” said Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for Nashwa's owner Imad Al Sagar. “She hasn't done much and probably at this stage we're aiming at the Middleton at York and then we would see how we go from there.

“The mile-and-a-quarter races would be her initial targets anyway I would imagine, but I suppose if the ground came up very soft for some reason at York and if the ground was all right at Newbury she might divert to the Lockinge. At the moment though, the plan is to look at the Middleton and Imad is happy with that plan.”

Third in the G1 Oaks at Epsom last spring, she eked out a short neck victory in the Chantilly Classic and made it two top tier races on the bounce with a 1 3/4-length score in the Nassau S. at Goodwood in July. A too-good-to-lose second in the G1 Prix de l'Opera on Arc Day Nashwa ran fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland in November. Trips to France for the G1 Prix Jean Romanet, as well as clashing with males in open Group 1s are on the table for later in the season.

“There's the Prince Of Wales's, Eclipse and Juddmonte if you are being really brave,” Grimthorpe continued. “Otherwise, there are nice races in Deauville and all those nice fillies races all around the Nassau which she won last year as well, so there is a good programme for her.”

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“It's true that after the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches that I had talked about the possibility of keeping Coeursamba to a mile and having a crack at the Coronation S. was mooted. However on the one hand, making travel arrangements is very complicated, and on the other she would have had to be supplemented,” he said. “There would have been a significant cost factor to all of us and we had to weigh this against the prize money on offer for the Diane, even if you only get placed. Therefore, we'll try the step up in distance, knowing that the filly worked very well on Monday morning. If the 2100 metres proves to be too far, we'll still have the option of reverting to a mile without having devalued the filly. Cristian Demuro will ride her.”

There was a blow for Gerard Augustin-Normand, with his May 24 G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner Incarville (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) drawn widest of all in 18, and the news what not much better for Yeguada Centurion SL's 'TDN Rising Star' Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) who will have to navigate stall 15.

Chantilly's Marin Le Cour Grandmaison is hoping the forecast thunderstorms do not wreak havoc. “On Wednesday morning, the ground rated 3.2 [good] on the penetrometer scale, so we are in the same situation as we were before the Qatar Prix du Jockey-Club,” he said. “Thunderstorms are forecast from Thursday morning onwards and, for the moment, it is difficult to predict how the ground will ride on Sunday. It will really depend on the amount of rainfall and it's quite random. Given the very sandy nature of the soil, the course drains and the track hasn't been used since the Jockey-Club. It has been mowed, rolled and aerated. The far running rail will remain in its usual place. It's really a headache when it comes to anticipating how many millimetres of rain will fall on the course and the storms will be the key determiner regarding the state of the ground.”

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“This is another great moment in a very strange season, but it’s all going well now,” winning jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot commented. “I’m absolutely thrilled to win a first Classic for such a young trainer and he said she was very straightforward and easy to ride and would stay very well. We didn’t go very fast in front, but it wasn’t in our interest nor that of Stephane Pasquier to set the pace for the others. She really put her heart into it for me.”

Donnacha is only 21 and was understandably delighted to become the third member of his family to train a Classic winner. “There’s so much pressure and a lot of work goes into it, but this feeling is great,” he said. “I always knew she was a very good filly and we always thought the step up in trip would suit her. Pierre is a very good rider and I told him to do what he wants. There was no pace early so he went forward on her and sat upsides the leader. It was exactly what I would have liked him to do. She quickened up well and stuck at it. We’ll get her home and see how she is. We might have a look at the [G1] Irish Oaks at The Curragh.”

Trained at Ballydoyle last term, Fancy Blue was off the mark on debut over seven furlongs at Naas in September before taking the Listed Staffordstown Stud S. at The Curragh the following month. Making up an abundance of ground out wide against the bias in the Irish Guineas, she was at the forefront here and from some way out had only Alpine Star to beat. Despite the oncoming threat of Peaceful and Raabihah to her left, it was the market-leader down on the rail who she had to subdue and she finally did so in the last 50 metres.

Alpine Star’s trainer Jessie Harrington said of the runner-up, “She’s gone very close and it was a whisker either way. Maybe the ground was a bit too quick for her, but that’s life. It’s quite a funny feeling to be disappointed after running second in a group one. She ran her heart out. It’s pretty quick after Ascot and I’m delighted with her. She seems to stay and she did everything right.”

Fancy Blue is out of Chenchikova (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), who was also responsible for the Listed Star Appeal S. winner and G1 Dewhurst S. third Smuggler’s Cove (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and his dual listed-winning full-brother Casterton (Ire). The second dam Kasora (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) was “Broodmare of the Year” in 2002 and 2003 courtesy of the exploits of Chenchikova’s famed full-brother, the G1 Epsom and Irish Derby and dual GI Breeders’ Cup Turf hero and leading sire High Chaparral (Ire) and his G2 Dante S.-winning full-brother Black Bear Island (Ire) who was also runner-up in the GI Secretariat S. Also connected is the listed-placed Treasure the Lady (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) who is in turn the second dam of this year’s G3 Leopardstown 1000 Guineas Trial winner Love Locket (Ire) (No Nay Never). Kasora is also the second dam of the G3 Hampton Court S. winner Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who was third in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational as well, and the G2 Beresford S. scorer and G1 National S. third David Livingston (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Chenchikova also has an as-yet unraced filly by Zoffany (Ire) named Miss Chess (Ire) and a yearling filly by Caravaggio.

Sunday, Chantilly, France
PRIX DE DIANE LONGINES-G1, €600,000, Chantilly, 7-5, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT, 2:05.46, g/s.
1–FANCY BLUE (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Deep Impact (Jpn)
1st Dam: Chenchikova (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells
2nd Dam: Kasora (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
3rd Dam: Kozana (GB), by Kris (GB)
1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Donnacha O’Brien; J-Pierre-Charles Boudot. €342,840. Lifetime Record: SW & G1SP-Ire, 4-3-1-0, €432,092. *1/2 to Smuggler’s Cove (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), SW-Ire & G1SPEng, $137,682; and Casterton (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), MSW & GSP-Fr, $163,024. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Alpine Star (Ire), 126, f, 3, Sea The Moon (Ger)–Alpha Lupi (Ire), by Rahy. O/B-Niarchos Family (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. €137,160.
3–Peaceful (Ire), 126, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Missvinski, by Stravinsky. O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. €68,580.
Margins: SNK, HD, HD. Odds: 8.10, 2.10, 3.90.
Also Ran: Raabihah, Magic Attitude (GB), Ebaiyra, Solsticia (Ire), Speak of the Devil (Fr), Miss Extra (Fr), Mageva (GB), Vadsena (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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In another unexpected turn of events, last year’s winning rider Seamie Heffernan will be at Epsom along with the 2017 hero Padraig Beggy and also Emmet McNamara which could result in a 14-day quarantine for them as they re-enter Ireland. Heffernan has live prospects of a repeat of his red-letter day on Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) 12 months ago on the G3 Hampton Court S. winner Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who will exit from stall six. Beggy, who got up late on the 40-1 outsider Wings of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}), comes in for the ride on the fascinating G1 Irish 2000 Guineas runner-up Vatican City (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and he is ideally drawn in the middle in eight. McNamara is on Saturday’s impressive nine-length Curragh maiden winner Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and he could be the pace angle from stall 12.

English King and Mogul have statistical history against them, with no winner having come from stall two and only three from stall one since 1969. They are Blakeney (GB), Roberto and Oath (Ire) (Fairy King) and the latter came as long ago as 1999. Bare statistics don’t tell the whole story, however. Since 1990, nine horses drawn one or two have been in the frame, with one winning, which was the aforementioned well-backed 13-2 shot Oath in 1999. He was housed next to Dubai Millennium (GB) that day and the fact that the Godolphin megastar finished ninth had nothing to do with his draw. There have been only 11 runners to trade under 10-1 to come out of the first two stalls in that period and it is impossible to make a case that any of them would have won had they been positioned more towards the middle or in the high numbers.

Perhaps the experience of the unhappy trip of Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) from stall one in 2018 has been overplayed. Only fourth as the 4-5 favourite, the apparent wunderkind went on to show that he didn’t truly stay a mile and a half. The only other truly short-priced contender in the last three decades was Telecaster (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), who traded at 5-1 last year coming from stall two and he was tailed off last not because he had that post position but because he refused to settle. In 1998, when there were 15 runners, the 12-1 shot City Honours (Darshaan {GB}) exited from stall one and was beaten just a head by High-Rise (Ire) (High Estate {GB}). In 2009, Masterofthehorse (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) was drawn two and at 16-1 got into the frame just behind Sea the Stars (Ire), so a low draw is by no means disastrous.

What being drawn there does mean is that the horse has to have natural speed to gain an advantageous position heading to the right and then back down to the left. An ability to cruise from the start without over-racing, which Roberto exemplified in 1972 under Lester Piggott. We know that English King has gears, having registered impressive sectionals at Lingfield, and that he has the kind of calm and composed nature which will aid Frankie as he looks for that early pitch.

Kameko will be joined by stablemate Khalifa Sat (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}), who is re-opposed by Juddmonte’s Emissary (GB) (Kingman {GB}) having beaten that half-brother to Workforce (GB) in Goodwood’s Listed Cocked Hat S. June 14. Ahmad Al Shaikh’s bay is drawn 14 and is another likely to be pressing the pace under Tom Marquand who was jocked off English King.

Andrew Balding is aware of the magnitude of the occasion, coming 49 years after father Ian saddled Mill Reef to glory. “Both horses did their last bits of work on Wednesday morning and I’m very happy with both of them,” he said. “As the race draws closer I see more dangers every day but, fingers crossed, everything has gone well in the build-up.”

“There is obviously the stamina doubt over Kameko, but he’s very relaxed and that’s why we are inclined to give it a go,” Balding added of the June 6 Newmarket Classic winner who will be the 13th to attempt the unique double since 1990 and if successful only the third to do so. “There’s a genetic question mark and it will be answered on Saturday. If he was a keen horse and difficult to settle, we would not be attempting this. It’s a combination of mentality and genetic make-up as to how far horses can stay. Any horse that wins the Vertem Futurity, as he did, is considered a potential Derby horse. He stayed the mile well as a 2-year-old and also hit the line strong in the Guineas.”

Of Khalifa Sat, he said, “He had a slight setback in late winter and that certainly held us back a little bit, but he’s made up for lost time and I thought he won really well at Goodwood. He’s in great nick and deserves to take his chance.”

Earlier on Saturday, eight fillies will head postward for the £250,000 G1 Investec Oaks, with Anthony Oppenheimer’s G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Frankly Darling (GB) (Frankel {GB}) leading the home defence from stall three. Ballydoyle’s contingent is again numerically strongest, with a trio headed by the impressive G1 1000 Guineas heroine Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who has drawn in stall five. Stablemates and Ribblesdale place-getters Ennistymon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Passion (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will break from four and one respectively.

Away from the Aidan O’Brien-Gosden rivalry, Roger Varian has captured the imagination by declaring the duo Queen Daenerys (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Gold Wand (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}). Mohamed Khalid Abdulrahim’s Gold Wand beat Enable’s half-sister Portrush (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in a mile-and-a-quarter maiden at Newbury June 11, while Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s Queen Daenerys was runner-up in the Listed Pretty Polly S. also over that distance at Newmarket June 7.

“My two are nice fillies and we feel they deserve to take their chance,” their trainer explained. “Gold Wand’s a filly we’ve always thought the world of. She’s probably a touch unfortunate that in this unusual year she’s not had time to run twice before the Oaks. She would have been a filly to go on to an Oaks trial, but we didn’t have time to do that and I didn’t think she was one to have three quick runs. Everything has gone smoothly since she won at Newbury. She’s obviously got to take a big step forward, but I think she’s very talented and I’m hoping that she can overcome her inexperience and show what she’s capable of. She shows a high level of ability at home and we wouldn’t be running her in an Oaks unless we saw that from her. There’s only one Oaks and it’s very exciting for her owner.”

“Queen Daenerys has not done much wrong in her career and I thought she ran a nice Oaks trial in the Pretty Polly, when she needed the run and looked to be crying out for an extra two furlongs,” he added. “She had to dig in there after getting outpaced mid-race and could have easily dropped out, but she did her best work late on. She’s going to get better the further she goes. She’s quite uncomplicated and the drying ground will suit her. I think she will outrun her odds.”

Despite there being no crowds at Epsom in 2020, there is no time to relax for racecourse officials who have to impose a 24-hour exclusion zone around the track. Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper said, “There will be a 24-hour exclusion zone in force and we’ll have a stewarding presence around the perimeter. We’d ask everyone to do us a huge favour and stay away this year.” Cooper also had news about the likely going, adding, “The greatest likelihood is that we’ll be at or near good on Saturday. We’d need really heavy showers to soften it beyond the slow side of good. Friday looks basically dry and on Saturday morning there is the chance of light, patchy rain as a frontal system moves down from the north west.”

Final declarations for Sunday’s equivalent Classics at Chantilly were also announced on Thursday, with Godolphin’s G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Victor Ludorum (GB) (Shamardal) ideally drawn in stall one in the 17-runner €900,000 G1 Prix du Jockey Club and the Niarchos Family’s G1 Coronation S. heroine Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) getting the same post as she heads a field of 11 for the €600,000 G1 Prix de Diane Longines. Michael Tabor’s G1 Irish 1000 Guineas victress Peaceful (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) sidesteps Epsom to line up in stall four for the 10 1/2-furlong test and Seamie Heffernan will make the trip to France from England to partner her. He also takes the ride on Saturday’s G1 Irish Derby fourth Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the Jockey Club, one of a trio of Coolmore-owned colts in the 10 1/2-furlong Classic. They include the Listed Prix de Suresnes-winning ‘TDN Rising Star’ Ocean Atlantique (American Pharoah), who fared worst of the fancied runners from the draw in stall 14.

One of the Jockey Club’s fairytale stories is Team Valor International and Andre Brakha’s unbeaten  Hurricane Dream (Fr) (Hurricane Cat), who will break from 11 under Jean-Bernard Eyquem as he provides jumps trainer Mikael Mescam with a day to remember. His sole horse in training was impressive when earning his tilt in a course-and-distance conditions event June 14 and Mescam is full of hope. “He has had a good preparation, coming up slowly through the ranks and he hasn’t had a tough race,” he commented. “Having a recent run over 2100 meters at Chantilly was ideal. In the mornings, you can see that he is a good horse, but then we’re always amazed at how impressively he wins. I only have one flat horse and having a runner in this race was highly unlikely! We are fortunate to have him at the stable and the whole team has taken great care of him.”

Jean-Claude Rouget has opted to leave Shadwell’s impressive G1 Prix Saint Alary heroine Tawkeel (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) out of the equation for the Diane and rely solely on the operation’s Raabihah (Sea the Stars {Ire}). The May 14 Listed Prix de la Seine winner is drawn nine, while the same stable’s Listed Prix Finlande runner-up Vadsena (Fr) (Makfi {GB}) has fared worse in 11. Christophe Soumillon has decided to partner Vadsena over the other Aga Khan representative Ebaiyra (Distorted Humor), the June 10 G3 Prix de Royaumont scorer who will be providing Olivier Peslier with another opportunity of a first Diane victory.

Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold said, “We entered both Raabihah and Tawkeel in the Prix de Diane Longines, but Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum didn’t want to run them against each other. Raabihah was chosen, as Tawkeel has already won a Group 1 and she should run later in the month in Goodwood’s Nassau S.”

Alain de Royer Dupre is a master of winning this Classic, having done so on six occasions and is bidding to provide The Aga Khan with an eighth renewal. “Ebaiyra won the Prix de Royaumont very nicely and we are running because we think that she is talented,” he said. “We have followed our usual method to bring her to the race, bringing her up in condition just to the race day. The question is whether she is talented enough to be competitive in this race. There are a number of fillies who have never met on the track before, so it is difficult to compare them.”

Chantilly are also expecting good ground on Sunday. “The weather has been very unstable all week,” explained Matthieu Vincent, the racecourse and training centre’s director. “We will make a decision on Friday at 4 p.m. with Marin Le Cour Grandmaison, the track manager, on whether or not to water. The aim is to have good-to-soft ground at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, heading towards good ground for the start of the meeting. Temperatures of 22 to 24c are predicted for Sunday with no rain forecast. The grass has been mowed to 10cm and there will be 10 metres of fresh ground on the inside. The last time that we used this ground with the rail at zero was on the 14th June. We have spent a lot of time cultivating the track during the lockdown, so there is a great grass cover.”

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Fabre could also run the promising ‘TDN Rising Star’ Ocean Atlantique (American Pharoah) while Christophe Ferland’s Pao Alto (Fr) (Intello {Ger}), who beat Ocean Atlantique in the G3 Prix la Force, is another major contender.

John Gosden’s Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) was an impressive winner of a Newmarket listed race on his return to action, beating better fancied stablemate Waldkonig (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Gosden favoured keeping him at 10 furlongs rather than stepping up in trip for Epsom. The only other entry from Britain is Paul and Oliver Cole’s Celtic Art (Fr) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), runner-up in a Deauville listed race last October.

Aidan O’Brien has left in four, headed by MGSW & MG1SP Armory (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while Joseph O’Brien can choose from seven, including G1 Irish Derby also-ran and GSW Crossfirehurricane (Kitten’s Joy).

Jessica Harrington’s impressive G1 Coronation S. winner Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) is among 17 in the G1 Prix de Diane. Donnacha O’Brien’s Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) could make the trip along with his brother Joseph’s New York Girl (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), who ran in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on Saturday, while their father Aidan has left in G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas winner Peaceful (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

The home team is headed by Jean-Claude Rouget’s duo of Raabihah (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and G1 Prix Saint-Alary victress Tawkeel (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}).

Peter Chapple-Hyam’s Bharani Star (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and David Simcock’s Oriental Mystique (GB) (Kingman {GB}) could make the trip.

The next entry stage closes on Tuesday morning, with the final entrants announced on Thursday. The current entries for the Prix du Jockey Club and for the Prix de Diane are available at www.france-galop.com/fr.

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