Inspiral is looking to complete back-to-back Prix Jacques le Marois triumphs and give the race’s most successful jockey, Frankie Dettori, a perfect send-off in his last outing in this top French Group 1 on Sunday.
Inspiral won the 1600-meter (1 mile approx.) race at Deauville by a neck twelve months ago to give Dettori his seventh victory. But John & Thady Gosden’s four-year-old is just the 5.50 third favourite with William Hill to retain the title.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 12th, 10:30 A.M. (BST)
Since last year’s win, she has run three times over a mile, all at Group 1 level, and finished second in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot in June is her only notable result. At Glorious Goodwood earlier this month, she was last of five in the Sussex Stakes.
Top of the market is Big Rock at 3.75. After switching trainers to Christopher Head in February, the three-year-old won four consecutive races before coming second in his first Group 1 race, the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly in June.
This will be his first 1 mile test since joining Head’s yard, but regular jockey Aurelien Lemaitre will be on board and the soft ground will be of no concern.
Just ahead of Inspiral in the betting is the colt who beat her by a neck in the Queen Anne, Triple Time. Neil Callan was having his first ride on the four-year-old that day, and trainer Kevin Ryan has unsurprisingly given him the ride again.
That remains Triple Time’s only run of the season so far; his previous outing was a Group 2 at Longchamp where he could only manage seventh on very soft ground, thus conditions (the going is soft) and/or the travel may be an issue this weekend.
Third in this race last year was Erevann for J-C Rouget, who went on to win the same Group 2 at Longchamp. This season has not been as fruitful so far and was only fifth of six in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan in May. Christophe Soumillon returns to the saddle and he is at 9.50.
At 11.00 is Good Guess who won a Group 1 for three-year-olds at Deauville on soft ground in May, while Marhaba Ya Sanafi (12.00) won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains before coming third in the Prix du Jockey Club.
Light Infantry (13.00) was third in the Queen Anne, one of three placings this season, but he is without a win in almost two years. Onesto (17.00) won last year’s Grand Prix de Paris but has not been seen since a seventh in the Japan Cup in November.
Life in Motion (21.00), Hi Royal (23.00) and Angers (34.00) complete the field.
