RACING: LONGCHAMPTEENAGE SENSATION Joseph O'Brien has already cracked the Guineas code in Ireland and Britain and will try to do the same in France tomorrow.
The dual-champion apprentice jockey teams up with his father Aidan’s supplementary entry Furner’s Green in the €450,000 Poule D’Essai Des Poulains and also with Up in the French equivalent of the 1,000 Guineas, the Poule D’Essai Des Pouliches at Longchamp.
Aidan O’Brien has won both French Guineas races in the past, starting with Rose Gypsy’s 2001 win in the fillies event while Landseer (2002), Aussie Rules (2006) and Astronomer Royal (2007) have won the colts race.
As well as Up, O’Brien runs After (Colm O’Donoghue) in the Pouliches, a race in which David Wachman runs Fire Lily (Wayne Lordan.)
All three fillies ran behind Homecoming Queen in a Guineas trial at Leopardstown last month, form that was boosted by Homecoming Queen at Newmarket last weekend.
“France has always been the plan,” said Wachman during the week. “She got tired the first day and I would expect her to improve a lot.”
The Irish team face a major task in the Pouliches against local favourite in Beauty Parlour, who impressed hugely in her classic warm-up in the Prix de la Grotte.
A dozen colts are scheduled to line up for the Poulains and the Ballydoyle team rely on Furner’s Green, a Leopardstown winner on his last start, and Vault.
Furner’s Green has been handed a stall 11 draw around the tight mile track at Longchamp, near the Fontainebleau winner Dragon Pulse in nine. Last year’s champion European two-year-old Dabirsim is ridden by Christophe Soumillon who is also on the Pouliches favourite Beauty Parlour.
Joseph O’Brien, winner of last weekend’s Newmarket Guineas on Camelot, and last year’s Irish Guineas on Roderic O’Connor, rides his father’s Navan winner Athens in the Group Two Prix Hocquart on the same card.
