Unlike her much better and slightly better stablemates Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Ballydoyle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) respectively, Alice Springs (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has yet to enjoy a top-flight victory but gets the chance to put that straight in Sunday's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at Deauville. On the first three occasions that Susan Magnier's chestnut tackled group 1 company, she was not more than 1 1/2 lengths away from succeeding when third in the Moyglare Stud S., fourth in the Cheveley Park S. and second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, but when Minding was in peak form she was four lengths adrift when third in Newmarket's G1 1000 Guineas a fortnight ago. Two lengths behind Alice Springs when fifth in the Guineas, Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah's Nathra (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) was meeting her match after winning the seven-furlong G3 Nell Gwyn S. on her seasonal debut also at Newmarket Apr. 12. Her owner's racing manager Bruce Raymond said, “Nathra ran a great race at Newmarket. The front three were just better than her on the day. We feel she just stays the mile and hopefully she will stay the mile at Deauville. She came home from the Guineas very well. Within a couple of days John [Gosden] felt she would be ready to run in the French Guineas.”
Jean-Claude Rouget holds a strong hand and along with Qemah (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) also has the unbeaten La Cressonniere (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), Gerard-Augustin Normand's homebred who has won three listed races on the bounce and has been freshened up after her latest one in Saint-Cloud's Prix la Camargo Mar. 20. TDN Rising Star Antonoe (First Defence) has failed to build on her impressive debut 6 1/2-length defeat of Qemah on debut over 7 1/2 furlongs here in August and subsequent win in the G3 Prix d'Aumale at this trip at Chantilly the following month. Seventh of eight in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp on Arc day, the Juddmonte homebred was only third behind Qemah and Kenriya (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) in the G3 Prix de la Grotte at Chantilly Apr. 20 but Pascal Bary is willing to try again on this livelier surface.
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