Monday's holiday crowd at Deauville are in for a real treat with a quality day's racing featuring a deep renewal of the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano, which appears a Group 2 in name only as at least five of the contingent have been at, or have pretensions of going, right to the top. In a race that does not penalise Group 1 winners, Jean-Claude Rouget opts to relaunch Antonio Caro and Gerard Augustin-Normand's Prix du Jockey Club hero Almanzor (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) as Andre Fabre did New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) 12 months ago. What could have been a soft re-entry is far from that, however, with His Highness The Aga Khan's Zarak (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) re-opposing as he bids to turn around a 1 1/2-length deficit with that rival, having beaten everything else in the 10 1/2-furlong Chantilly Classic last time June 5. The homebred son of Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar) still looks a work in progress, which can also be said of Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Royal Artillery (War Front). Surprisingly, John Gosden has opted to send last Saturday's G3 Rose of Lancaster S. winner across the channel, so the imposing bay must have bounced out of that 10-furlong Haydock contest.
First and second in the G2 Prix Eugene Adam over this trip at Maisons-Laffitte July 17, Heshem (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) and Ultra (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}) are back in the line-up again with just 3/4 of a length separating them on that form. The former, who sports the Al Shaqab Racing silks, is on the rise and hard to pin down at present, so he could be capable of upholding the form with Godolphin's representative. Ultra was having his first start since winning last year's G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Longchamp's Arc card, so is entitled to improve and he hails from the Andre Fabre stable successful a record 11 times.
“Ultra has come on well since his last run. We still have one eye on the latter part of the season, so he is being brought along with that in mind rather than this race being his main objective,” commented Godolphin's Lisa-Jane Graffard. “It is a very tough contest and a Group 1 in all but name. This is another stepping stone towards his autumn campaign, but we hope that he can start to confirm the promise he showed last year.”
Alongside Almanzor is the other Rouget runner, Taaref (Kitten's Joy), who ordinarily would be a leading candidate based on his latest success in Chantilly's G3 Prix Daphnis over nine furlongs June 22, but who in this territory may be out of his depth.
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