𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝.
The third and last destination on the racing circuit's European trip is Deauville, France, following Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood.
The scenic city on the northern coast attracts the elite of the continent's racing and breeding sectors mostly for the Arqana bloodstock sale, but there is also plenty of world-class action on the track to offset the millions of euros spent off it.
The Group One Prix Rothschild (1,600m), the featured race on Tuesday, is only open to fillies and mares and is the most recent contest in which the Classic generation tries to compete with more experienced, established horses.
After defeating the boys in the Group One Prix Jean Prat at this track on her previous start, Irish challenger Tenebrism, age 3, is back competing against her own sex.
After only five career appearances, she has already finished a respectable fourth in the Group One Coronation Stakes. The seven pounds she receives from the older horses might be a major benefit.
However, Tenebrism is up against a four-year-old who is at the peak of her game at Saffron Beach. Saffron Beach, an English-trained Australian horse, has already won a Group One race after placing first in the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket in October of last year.
She sets the bar for the others to aim for after winning the Group Two Duke of Cambridge Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot last time.
Tuesday at Deauville is definitely a ladies' day because only fillies are allowed in two of the key supporting races.
In the Group Three Prix de Psyche, a sharp Hong Kong bettor will discover Tony Piccone is riding Peshmerga (2,000m).
With Peshmerga, who is rising up in class after a respectable victory at a lower level the previous time, Piccone may find it difficult to enter the winner's enclosure. Piccone rode 17 winners in nearly two years in Hong Kong before returning home to France due to a string of injuries.
Three horses are entered in the race, with Hidden Dimples having the best chance for renowned French trainer Andre Fabre. Although she had won her two prior races and might benefit from a return to quicker conditions, she appeared to struggle in soft footing on her most recent outing.
The Group Three Prix Six Perfections (1,400 meters) is the youngsters' chance to compete on a major stage, and the unbeaten French fillies Sea The Lady and Gain It appear to be the two to focus on.
Sea The Lady, on which Christophe Soumillon is riding, recently defeated a strong field by a whopping seven lengths, so it may be difficult to overcome.
The Irish raider The Antarctic appears to have an excellent chance to win his maiden Group level race in the Group Three Prix de Cabourg (1,200 meters).
0 Comments