All eyes on the Classics

For this second Sunday of the year at ParisLongchamp, the meeting promises to be as appealing as it is informative ahead of the upcoming Classic targets. All the ingredients are in place for a top-class day of racing!

With three Group races and two Listed events on the card, the overall standard looks particularly high. At 2.33pm, the Prix de la Grotte (Group 3) will notably mark the return of leading fillies such as Narissa and Green Spirit, both of whom featured in the finish of last autumn’s Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (Group 1). A similar scenario unfolds in the Prix de Fontainebleau (Group 3), due off at 3.50pm, where several contenders from the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (Group 1) reappear, including Nighttime and Campacite. However, the task will be far from straightforward against ambitious opposition: Elastic, already a winner this season, the unbeaten Lyneham, and the highly regarded Regal Resolve are all ready to shake things up.

The Prix de Noailles (Group 3), at 4.25pm, looks wide open, with a diverse range of profiles among the runners. In peak condition after a productive winter, Saint Martin comes here off a win in the Prix François Mathet (Listed) at Saint-Cloud and will aim to confirm. Pearled Majesty, who caught the eye at Chantilly, steps up with genuine ambitions at this level. Powai and the powerful Montsecret, both arriving on the back of victories, also face an interesting test. Finally, the Irish challenger Hardy Warrior, one of the most accomplished runners in the field, brings a typically formidable international dimension.

High-quality Listed races
The two Listed events on the card have a Group-race feel, with particularly strong fields among the older horses. The Prix Lord Seymour (5.00pm) will see the return of Group 1-placed Map of Stars, who will, however, have to contend with race-fit rivals such as the Godolphin representatives Marquisat and Birr Castle. The day will get underway at 1.58pm with the Prix Jacques Laffitte, which promises to be a fascinating contest featuring high-class profiles such as the relentless Frankly Good Cen, the British raider Liberty Lane, as well as Casapueblo (expected to achieve major performances in the future) and Diego Ventura, increasingly effective over longer distances.