Aidan O'Brien has trimmed his team down from eight entries at the beginning of the week and will be represented by a trio of candidates, headed by G2 Futurity and Listed Dee Stakes hero Constitution River (Wootton Bassett), in Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club after 16 declarations for the €1.5-million contest were confirmed on Thursday morning.
Drawn out wide in stall 15, he will be chaperoned by stablemates Hawk Mountain (Wootton Bassett) and Montreal (Sea The Stars) in the 10 1/2-furlong Chantilly feature. Hawk Mountain is nearby in stall 11, while Montreal has stall eight.
“During the final race of his two-year-old season, he suffered a small crack,” explained O'Brien. “It was not serious, but we simply felt that he needed to be given time and that is why he did not run between August and May. He has not run on a right-handed track, so that represents an additional challenge. He has drawn stall 15 out of 16 and Chantilly is a very tactical track. Had he been drawn low, he might have found himself boxed in. It will probably be a little more difficult, tactically for Ryan [Moore], and he will no doubt have to make a lot of quick decisions about what he is going to do.”
The remaining Irish entry is Ana O'Brien's multiple Group-placed G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud runner-up A Boy Named Susie (Starspangledbanner), who is trained by the owner's brother Donnacha and drawn in stall 13.
The Aga Khan Studs has two entries set to head postward, with the undefeated Mikel Delzangles trainee Dolmalan (Zarak) accompanied by Francis Graffard's lone nominee Daryzan (Zarak). The latter, Daryz's half-brother and a TDN Rising Star to boot, is the selection of retained rider Mickael Barzalona. They have drawn stalls six and 10, respectively.
“He has the same quality as his brother, that strong acceleration, and it is a real gamble to run on Sunday in only his second race, but we believe the quality is there,” Nemone Routh said of Daryzan. “He obviously lacks a little experience and his draw will be crucial. Mickael Barzalona had the choice of riding Dolmalan or Daryzan, and he chose Daryzan.”
The British challenge consists of the Karl Burke-conditioned G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains third Hankelow (Night Of Thunder) and Prince Faisal's supplementary entry Oxagon (Frankel), who was added to the field at a cost of €72,000 on Wednesday. They have drawn stalls one and three, respectively.
Andre Fabre has four prior renewals already in the books and relies on G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains runner-up Komorebi (Pinatubo) and TDN Rising Star Segall (Sottsass) this time around. They have drawn stalls seven and 12.
Germany has one representative declared, with the country's leading juvenile and unbeaten three-time Group winner Gostam (Saxon Warrior) set to depart from stall five.
Fellow German entry Peace Of Japan (Japan), along with the Ballydoyle Wootton Bassett duo Dorset and Endorsement, were the only overnight defections.
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