3 minute read

Longchamp for the gallops and Compiegne for the jumps are the two big tickets tracks for this long awaited resumption.

It was nearly derailed at the last minute as the footballers objected but fortunately common sense prevailed and the races were given the all-clear.

There was also quite a bit of angst over prize money allocations until it was decided to keep the lower levels as they were and take away from the higher levels.

With horses short on racing this year and with many horses resuming there should be the possibility of some good betting.  There was some heavy rain on Sunday but the track should be OK by race time.

So Monday's Longchamp card is a beauty, starting off with the G3 Prix de Saint-Georges over 1000m for the 3yos.  H-A Pantall has three here and we are going for his We Go with P-C Boudot riding and 6/1 available in the UK.  Andre Fabre's Duhail will probably start favourite – currently on 9/2, and Sestilio Jet is very speedy and 3/1.  We have a roughie here in Morning Basma on 33/1.

The next group race is the Prix Fontainbleau over 1600m for the 3yo boys including geldings and has a field of 8 with the very talented Victor Ludorum odds-on.  He's already won at G1 level and looks unbackable.  However with an odds-on favourite there is value in the other runners and we like Pisanello on 12/1 and Devil on 11/1.  One can speculate on how he got his name!

The Prix de la Grotte is the third of the G3s and is over 160m for the 3yo girls with 10 lining up.  Fabre's Tropbeau has looked like a girl going places and comes in here on 5/4 with the talented Khayzaraan on 15/8 so not much between them.  Our sort of roughie here is the Pia Brandt trained Quiet Time on 16/1.

The Prix d'Harcourt is G2 over 2000m for 4y+ and here we see Sottsass stepping out on the road to the Arc.  When he was third in that race Rouget said we will have to try him then at 4.  He won the Prix Jockey Club 2019 too so he's odds-on.  There are 5 of the 9 runners with names starting with "S" so we have added Soudania 12/1 and Syrtis 14/1 for the multiples.