Sunday, Parislongchamp, France, post time: 17:00, PRIX D'HARCOURT-G2, €130,000, 4yo/up, 10fT
Field: Daring Prince (GB) (Zarak {Fr}), Birr Castle (Fr) (Cloth Of Stars {Ire}), Horizon Dore (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}), Certain Lad (GB) (Clodovil {Ire}) and Map Of Stars (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).
TDN Verdict: Much the most intriguing member of this cast is the unexposed Map Of Stars, who marked his seasonal debut with a smooth success in Saint-Cloud's G3 Prix Exbury last month and has been campaigned with the future in mind. Given that his dam Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) reached her peak at five, connections will be buoyed if he turns this into an uncomplicated tune-up for the G1 Prix Ganay. In what is a match if the formbook can be trusted, Horizon Dore is the one to aim at if he is the same horse that got so close to Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in last year's G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes. Notably, he excels at this venue with his seven starts here boasting three wins and a narrow second to the high-class Mqse De Sevigne (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G1 Prix d'Ispahan last May.
Sunday, Parislongchamp, France, post time: 15:50, PRIX LA FORCE-G3, €80,000, 3yo, c/g, 9fT
Field: Azimpour (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Dreamliner (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}), Nizam (Fr) (Pinatubo {Ire}), Cualificar (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Reach The Sky (Fr) (Calyx {GB}), New Ground (GB) (New Bay {GB}), and Waka Waka (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}).
TDN Verdict: This G1 Prix du Jockey Club trial features a trio of unbeaten and untested colts in Nizam, New Ground and Azimpour and given the upward trajectory of the Francis-Henri Graffard stable over the past year and a bit, it is impossible not to focus in on the latter. He has to be much better than the bare form of his course-and-distance win in October, but the Aga Khan Studs' homebred is a half-brother to The Autumn Sun (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) from the immediate family of Azamour (Ire) (Night Shift) and has a high ceiling genetically. Nurlan Bizakov's Nizam is a son of his G3 Musidora Stakes scorer Nausha (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and like Juddmonte's New Ground has an extra race under his belt than Azimpour but may lack the overall scope of their peer.
Sunday, Parislongchamp, France, post time: 16:25, AL SHIRA'AA RACING PRIX VANTEAUX-G3, €80,000, 3yo, f, 9fT
Field: Mandanaba (Fr) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}), Blown By The Wind (Fr) (Waldgeist {GB}), Flaming Stone (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Premonition (Fr) (Lord Of England {Ger}), Wassail (War Front), and Gezora (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}).
TDN Verdict: Another big runner for the Graffard operation, TDN Rising Star Mandanaba makes her keenly-anticipated return having wowed on her sole start at Chantilly in November. Princess Zahra Aga Khan's daughter of her high-achieving Mandesha (Fr) (Desert Style {Ire}) has two proven yardsticks to aim at in Juddmonte's Listed Prix la Camargo winner Flaming Stone and White Birch Farm's acquisition Gezora, the latter of which is now in the same stable following her G3 Prix des Reservoirs win. The latter is out of the G1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine Germance (Silver Hawk), who was runner-up in the 2006 G1 Prix de Diane for which this acts as a pertinent trial.
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