Silius (Ire)

Badly in need of a confidence boost ahead of Royal Ascot, Wathnan's Lazzat (Territories) got just that in Thursday's G3 Prix du Palais-Royal at ParisLongchamp. Sent off the 30-100 favourite for the seven-furlong contest, the five-year-old who had endured five consecutive reversals since his epic defeat of Satono Reve in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes in June was launched by Mickael Barzalona 300 metres out and coaxed clear for a smooth 4 1/2-length success. Silius (Dubawi) was second, with the outsider Rencontre Sportive (Seabhac) another 1 1/4 lengths away...

Tuesday, Deauville, France, post time: 15:05, PRIX DJEBEL-G3, €80,000, 3yo, c/g, 7fT Field: Woodshauna (Fr) (Wooded {Ire}), Arabie (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}), Dynamitic (GB) (Hello Youmzain {Fr}), Rosapenna (Fr) (Hello Youmzain {Fr}), Tiego The First (Fr) (Blue Point {Ire}), Maranoa Charlie (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Le Roi Rene (Fr) (Ribchester {Ire}) and Silius (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). TDN Verdict: This longstanding trial for either the 2,000 Guineas or the domestic equivalent revolves around last year's sensation Maranoa Charlie, who after flaunting freakish ability on his first three starts spectacularly came undone...

"An eagle-eyed former Timeform employee, Adam guarantees that if the next Notable Speech is out there, about to make his debut on the all-weather this winter before marching on to Classic glory, then he will spot him. No pressure, then." Those were the words of TDN colleague Emma Berry when she penned her final Seven Days column of 2024, teeing up what was to come in the column introduced in its stead for the winter. Now, in this 12th edition of Winter Watch, we've reached the stage where it's time...