Chantilly Preview - 20/06/21

The five Group race card at Chantilly this Sunday kicks off with the Group 3 Prix Paul De Moussac and we’ve picked out the Joel Boisnard trained BREIZH EAGLE.

By Group 2 winner Bow Creek, he was unbeaten on his first three starts when winning impressive on the a/w at Deauville and then on his first run over a mile at Parislongchamp.

He was then installed as a 25/1 outsider in the French 2000 Guineas but despite the huge step up in class, he flew home around the outside to claim a two lengths third behind St Mark’s Basilica.

That is by far the best form in the race and with improvement on the cards once again, he could potentially find this fairly straight forward.

In a race which has seen a new trainer win it for the past 14 renewals, we’ve picked out Wesley Ward’s American raider NAPA SPIRIT.

By Group 1 winner Invincible Spirit to 1m 3f winner Aimhirgin Lass, he was sent off at 1/2 on debut at Keeneland in April and despite looking very green, he managed to get himself in to the winners enclosure at the first time of asking.

Ward has already had a decent enough week at Royal Ascot and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him carry that form over the channel to Chantilly this Sunday in a field with a lot of unexposed types in it.

Now for the biggy, the Group 1 Prix de Diane. A race that dates back to the mid 1800s, it sees some of the best middle distance horses from across Europe head to Chantilly in a bid to claim glory and it looks set to be one of the most open renewals in recent years.

The Andre Fabre trained Philomene heads the market but we’ve gone for a big outsider in the shape of 25/1 shot Rumi.

If you’ve been following our French tips closely over the past year, you’ll know this is a horse we are really quite fond of.

A winner on debut over 1m 1f at Parislongchamp at the end of last year, he showed plenty of signs of rustiness on his seasonal reappearance when fourth of eight at Saint-Cloud however a switch in tactics which saw him ridden more prominently back at Parislongchamp saw him pick up his first Group victory next time out.

He was unsuited by the pace of the race when running on well to finish a two lengths sixth in the Group 1 Prix Saint Alary over this distance at the end of May but if Peslier switches back to the tactics which saw him win well in Group 3 company April, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him upset the odds here in a competitive race.

11 look set to go to post in the Group 3 Prix Bertrand Du Breuil and we’ve gone for last years winner PRETREVILLE.

Vasty experienced with 15 career runs spanning over three years which has included an astonishing seven victories and five places, he won this race on his first start of 2020 last year to pick up his first Group 3 success but then went on a four race slide without a victory.

Second behind Duhail in the Group 3 Prix Du Muguet when sent off at 18/1, he showed that you can’t write him off just yet and he looks more than capable of defending his title here.

The last of the Group races sees eight runners declared in the Group 3 Prix Du Lys and we’ve taken a real liking to the unbeaten Andre Fabre gelding of CENTRICAL.

By Galileo, he’s out of Meydan Group 2 winner over 1m 1f Cladocera and he showed plenty of promise on debut when winning over 1m 2f at Cholet.

He showed that wasn’t a fluke when backing up the form with victory in a four runner race at Vichy seemingly needing further and that’s exactly what he gets in this field.

He is very much unexposed still but improvement is more than likely from his past two runs and he’s an interesting prospect for a yard that has won this race an incredible 15 times.