Chantilly ends on a High Note

At 1:58 p.m., the two-year-olds will get proceedings under way in the Goffs Prix Robert Papin, a Group 2 race over 1,200 metres on the straight course. Only three runners will line up, with Ireland’s Joseph O’Brien, who won last year’s renewal with Green Sense, represented by two horses.

King of Cloughan comes into the race on the back of victory in a Listed contest at Royal Ascot, the prestigious Windsor Castle Stakes. His stablemate Beibhinn, meanwhile, finished third in the Airlie Stud Stakes, a Group 2 race held at the Curragh in late June.

France will be represented by Tokaido, trained in Chantilly by Amy Murphy, the British trainer who chose to relocate to France just over a year ago. Tokaido has already recorded three wins from four starts, most recently in the Prix du Bois (Group 3).

The three-year-old fillies will take centre stage in the Darley Prix Chloé (Group 3), due off at 4:25 p.m. Once again, the field includes one Irish-trained and one British-trained runner. However, Maintain, trained in Chantilly by Henri-François Devin, is likely to attract plenty of support. She contested the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and most recently finished second in the Prix Mélisande (Listed), behind her stablemate and fellow owner’s representative Dispatches, who subsequently ran third in the Cygames Prix de Malleret (Group 2).

The Prix Messidor, a Group 3 race for horses aged three and older, will be run at 5:35 p.m. There is considerable anticipation surrounding the return of the unbeaten Erdenali, who has won all three of his starts and will now test himself at Group level. He will, however, need to overcome seasoned older horses such as Silius and Dark Trooper.

The final black-type race on the card, the Prix de la Pépinière, is a Listed contest restricted to fillies and mares aged four and older. The highly regarded Cankoura, a recent runner-up at the highest level in the United States, appears to have been set a task well within her capabilities.