Monday French Group Race Preview - 11/05/20

The Prix De La Grotte is a Group3 event open to three-year-old fillies. It is contested over 1m and is usually held in April.

French powerhouse trainers Andre Fabre and Jean-Claude Rouget tend to dominate this race, winning it six times in the past ten years between them.

Multiple classic winner Andre Fabre holds the ante-post market leader in Tropbeau who will be known to UK punters for finishing third in the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket in September.

This regally-bred daughter of Showcasing is likely to be popular but we are happy to take a chance on the Al Maktoum owned Khayzaraan at the prices.

Freddy Head’s charge is by Kingman, out of a Dubawi filly the yard know well and her two career victories have been mightily impressive.

She blitzed a subsequent winner by nine lengths at Deauville in August before winning by five lengths eased down the following month at Chantilly.

Admittedly, she has to prove she is group level as the favourite certainly sets the standard, but the manner in which she has bursted clear in her lower-grade races suggests she will be up to the task.

Second up is the Prix De Fontainebleau, another Group3 event races over 1m, this time for the colts.

Andre Fabre and Godolphin teamed up to land this with the classy Persian King last season and they have the clear favourite here with Victor Ludorum.

This son of the late Shamardal is unbeaten in three career starts all of which have come over this distance. He finished off last season by landing the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and the trainer has been bullish about his future ever since.

At an E/W price Helter Skelter has to be feared. This son of Wootton Bassett is the only horse to finish faster than Victor Ludorum in his career so far and if he can get going sooner than he did in October he could cause the favourite problems.

Finally, we have the Prix D’harcourt which is a Group 2 event open to horses aged four years or above.

This is ran over 1m2f and the English have made it their own in recent years, though have no entrants this season for obvious reasons.

The market principal is the Arc De Triomphe placed Sottsass, who holds outstanding claims dropped in grade.

This son of Siyouni is quite easily the form choice and should have no qualms with the shorter distance. He is currently as low as 8/15 and is likely to be an even lesser starting price.