Raising The Bar

With a record seven wins in the G2 Prix Hocquart, Andre Fabre is the man to watch as Deauville plays host to the usually Longchamp-based Classic trial on Sunday and his representative in a race he used for the education of the likes of Hurricane Run (Ire) is Barwod (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). Beaten on his two starts over a mile so far this term, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani's bay was a short-neck second to the subsequent G3 Prix de Fontainebleau winner Dicton (GB) (Lawman {Fr}) in the Mar. 20 Listed Prix Omnium at Saint-Cloud before finishing third behind the fellow Poulains-bound duo of Zarak (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) and George Patton (War Front) under a four-pound penalty in a conditions event at Maisons-Laffitte Apr. 19. Presumably, Fabre has the measure of Al Shaqab's Mekhtaal (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) as he saddled Lascar (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) to beat that Jean-Claude Rouget-trained chestnut in a conditions race over this trip at Maisons-Laffitte Apr. 13, but connections of the second are keeping the faith. “Mekhtaal is probably a bit immature and may need more time–he won very well first time out and that might have taken a bit more out of him than we thought,” racing manager Rupert Pritchard-Gordon said. “The track at Maisons-Laffitte can be very deep and gluey in the spring and he didn't seem to handle it well last time. You'd forgive him that run and he'll be better on better ground.” They face an unknown quantity in Fiona Carmichael's unbeaten Dalgarno (Fr) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and that Nicolas Clement-trained colt was impressive over 11 furlongs at Lyon-Parilly Apr. 24.