Following last weekend’s reverses in Newmarket, Aidan O’Brien will hope Sunday’s French Guineas in Paris can set the 2023 classic ball rolling.
Hans Andersen lines up in France’s version of the 2000 Guineas — the €650,00 Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains — at 2.50pm Irish time which is live on Sky Sports Racing.
Jockey Ryan Moore also teams up with Never Ending Story 40 minutes later in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches or 1000 Guineas.
The English man hasn’t won that race before and O’Brien’s sole success in it was 22 years ago through Rose Gypsy. Moore was on board one of the Irish man’s five previous Poulains’ winners, The Gurkha, in 2016.
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The partnership is also in action in another Group One Longchamp renewal through Boogie Woogie in the St Mark’s Basilica Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary off at 4.10pm. Moore won that a year ago on Above The Curve for O’Brien’s son, Joseph.
The latter is involved in Sunday’s Longchamp action through Brostaigh who lines up in the Group Three Prix de St-Georges (12.58pm).
Last week’s anti-climax surrounding Ballydoyle’s big two classic hopefuls, Little Big Bear and in particular Auguste Rodin, means there is even extra focus on Hans Andersen’s task against nine opponents.
The Frankel colt comfortably won a trial at Leopardstown six weeks ago on testing ground and has got a favourable draw for Longchamp’s round mile in stall five.
Christophe Soumillon’s mount, American Flag, won his own trial over course and distance very impressively and, along with English hope Isaac Shelby, looks a particular threat to the Irish hope.
French classics may not generally carry quite the same prestige as England’s, but they proved vital to the Ballydoyle team a couple of years ago.
With the rest of O’Brien’s three-year-old colts failing to fire, St Mark’s Basilica graduated to prime stallion status by landing both the French 2000 and Derby. Joan Of Arc collected the Oaks into the bargain.
Hans Andersen hardly boasts a St Mark’s Basilica-type profile. Whereas the latter ended his juvenile career with a Dewhurst victory, Hans Andersen’s form appeared to tail off as a two-year-old.
It belied initial expectations that he would rank high among his generation but with a winter under his belt he looked to have progressed at Leopardstown, albeit the form looks nothing special yet.
With ground conditions expected to be testing at Longchamp, though, it did tick off one important box in terms of ability to act on the going.
Isaac Shelby did much the same when landing the Greenham at Newbury and dons the colours of his new Qatari Wathnan Racing owners for the first time. Irish jockey Sean Levey retains the mount.
The Aga Khan’s Valimi is a prime local contender although perhaps not so much as American Flag who had connections extolling his virtues after a very eye-catching performance in last month’s Fontainebleau renewal.
“It could be that I can finally train the top horse I have been dreaming of,” said trainer Yann Barberot. Soumillon, who has more experience with top horses than most, has also labelled the colt “very special”.
The Belgian isn’t engaged in the 1000 where Blue Rose Cen looks the benchmark filly.
Christopher Head’s runner had Never Ending Story back in third when a five-length winner of last year’s Boussac and proved she’d trained on by making all in her Group Three Trial a month ago.
Never Ending Story looked have trained on significantly herself over the winter with a trial success of her own at Leopardstown.
The runner-up, Matilda Picotte, subsequently ran third in last Sunday’s Guineas in Newmarket, while the third, Zarinsk, won a Group Three last weekend.
It makes an encouraging form case for the daughter of Dubawi who will break from stall six of the ten runners in the €550,000 classic.
Boogie Woogie will supply a form test to Wednesday’s spectacular 22-length Chester winner Savethelastdance when lining up for the Alary.
She was runner-up to her stable companion at Leopardstown before breaking her own maiden at Naas. Boogie Woogie faces some potentially high-class local fillies including Soumillon’s mount Jannah Rose.
Before that the O’Brien-Moore team will try to uncover another classic contender as Be Happy takes her chance in Lingfield’s Oaks Trial on Saturday.
The card transferred to the track’s all-weather circuit due to waterlogging on the grass course also hosts a Derby Trial where Godolphin’s Military Order will try to book his Epsom ticket.
The brother to the 2021 Derby hero Adayar, runner-up in this race on-route to Epsom, impressed on his Newbury comeback appearance.
Domestic action
Saturday’s domestic action at Navan features the Listed Irish Stallion Farms Yeats Stakes where Joseph O’Brien saddles half of the six-runner field.
Mikey Sheehy stays on the course and distance winner Nurburgring who looks a type to progress further and whose stamina is already guaranteed.
