Prix Jacques le Marois (G1)
August 15, 2020
A fascinating contest, this is a top quality renewal of one of the great mile races on the European calender with John Gosden’s Palace Pier setting the standard.
The son of Kingman is unbeaten in four run’s and Frankie Dettori retains the partnership, deciding he’ll make the trip to Deauville and do the quarantine on his return.
He was introduced in a Sandown plus ten maiden last August where he readily justified favouritism following up in a conditions event two weeks later at the same track, this time going off at 1/8F, he won by 4½L.
His trainer John Gosden didn’t go the classic route this year instead giving him a pipe opener in a handicap at Newcastle where he again was an easy winner from Acquitted. With an unbeaten record, he went into the deep end in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot where he had no issues in accounting for the much more experienced Pinatubo and Wichita.
Andre Fabre’s Persian King, also a son of Kingman leads the home defence.
He’d been a very promising juvenile who’d capped off his juvenile career winning the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket from the following years Newmarket Two Thousand Guineas winner, Magna Grecia, back in third was Circus Maximus.
Last year he was an easy winner of his prep for the French Guineas, then in the Poule d’Essai des Poulain he was sent off a short price, 1/2 where he justified market confidence. At Chantilly in the French Derby, the Prix du Jockey Club, he went off favourite but was turned over by Scotass, who’s since proved that run was no fluke when running third in last years Arc and taking the Prix Ganay this year.
Now a four-year-old he was in need of his first run this year when beaten by stable companion Magny Cours, since a winner at Listed level at Sandown, but in the G2 Prix du Muguet he was able to assert over the reopposing Preteville. He was stepped up to G1 company for the Prix d’Ispahan where he was a ready winner.
There’s a strong Irish challenge for this, Romanised from the Ken Condon yard is back to defend his crown. He made a winning reappearance in the G2 Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh, a race he also won on the way to capturing this last year. The difference this year was that it was expected he’d need the run.
Circus Maximus also travels from Ballydoyle, he’d a nose to spare over Romanised in the Prix du Moulin last year, surprisingly Circus Maximus was allowed keep the race having carried Romanised left in the final 50 yards. His comeback this year in the Queen Anne was a winning one but in the Sussex Stakes last time out he was collared by Mohaather.
It’s also a return to France for Alpine Star from the Jessica Harrington yard.
Third to Love on debut last year she broke her maiden next time out beating the subsequent Irish Derby winner Santiago 3¼L then following up in the Debutante Stakes where she had Love back in fifth. Her seasonal reappearence came at Royal Ascot where she was an was an easy winner of the Coronation Stakes. She went to Paris for the Prix Diane going off favourite where she was just denied by Fancy Blue.
Full of intrigue, the three year olds, Palace Pier and Alpine Star bring the best of Royal Ascot G1 form, the four olds Circus Maximus and Persian King have accumulated five G1’s between them and then the five year old Romanised, himself a double G1 winner, showed he’s also in rude health when winning at the Curragh.
It will probably be decided by the ground.
Thunder storms have hit Normandy and the track will ride soft, it will surely blunt the speed of most of them, particularly Romanised who loves a quick surface. The Kingman son’s Persian King and Palace Pier won’t love it either.
The pace will come from Circus Maximus now in the hands of Christophe Soumillon who’ll likely take it on. He’ll try to take the sting out of them and with the ground sapping stamina the others may find their feet getting stuck when push comes to shove.
Off a lightweight it could be Alpine Star, a G2 winner on a yielding surface who could come through to win.
Recommendation: Alpine Star 6/1 win
