Grand Prix de Paris: Mekhtaal looks another star for Rouget

Thursday evening’s Grand Prix de Paris at Saint-Cloud becomes the latest Group 1 contest to find a temporary new home during Longchamp’s redevelopment. The venue may be different this year, but it’s business as usual as far as Andre Fabre is concerned as he saddles three of the nine runners in a bid to win the mile and a half contest for a remarkable fourteenth time.

Pick of the Fabre trio on form is Cloth of Stars who is very much at home at this track having won the Prix La Force and Prix Greffulhe here with little fuss in the spring. Those wins made him a leading contender for the Derby, but his tendency to be too keen for his own good surfaced again at Epsom and after leading briefly, he weakened over the last quarter mile to finish only eighth. Cloth of Stars is bred to stay a mile and a half and Saint-Cloud offers less of a test than Epsom, but judged on his Derby performance he’ll prove best back over shorter trips.

There are no stamina worries where Fabre’s other Godolphin colt Talismanic is concerned, indeed he should be suited by the return to this trip. Talismanic won a listed race on heavy ground over this course and distance in May and then ran well to finish fourth in the Prix du Jockey Club. He fared much the best of those who raced close to the pace at Chantilly, beaten in the end by a trio of speedier types stepping up in trip. Talismanic will need to improve again, but that’s quite possible with conditions likely to be in his favour.

The Fabre trio is completed by an intriguing contender in Maniaco. On the evidence of just two starts, his form leaves him with a huge amount of improvement to find but it’s obviously significant that his trainer is pitching him into this company so soon. Maniaco got off the mark at the second attempt in a four-runner minor event over this trip at Chantilly in May, though the form has hardly been boosted since with the runner-up beaten in a maiden next time out. However, Maniaco does have the most scope to progress of any of these, and he’s bred to be contesting races at the top level, by Galileo out of the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Plumania.

Fabre finds himself in the unfamiliar position of trailing in second in the French trainers’ championship after the brilliant first half of the year enjoyed by Jean-Claude Rouget’s three-year-olds. Zelzal’s win in Sunday’s Prix Jean Prat followed earlier Group 1 wins in the Al Shaqab colours for stable-companions Jemayel and Qemah, and there’s every chance Mekhtaal can keep up the good work for the same connections here.

Mekhtaal started favourite for the Prix du Jockey Club after a six-length win from the front in the Prix Hocquart at Deauville but a wide draw at Chantilly left him with plenty to do and he wasn’t given anything like a hard race in the end, running on from last of all in the straight to finish eighth to stable-companion Almanzor. By Sea The Stars out of a useful mile and a half winner, Mekhtaal, who made a winning debut at this track, looks sure to be suited by this longer trip and can make amends here.

Given the stamina doubts surrounding Cloth of Stars, Mekhtaal’s biggest threat could be Red Verdon who finished in front of Cloth of Stars at Epsom when sixth in the Derby. Ed Dunlop’s colt has already come a long way since starting the year in handicaps, and improved again to finish closer to Epsom winner Harzand when a staying-on fourth in the Irish Derby. It remains to be seen if he can progress any further but, supplemented for the third race running, connections must have a good chance of recouping at least some of their entry fee.

Aidan O’Brien has won the Grand Prix de Paris twice, latterly with Imperial Monarch in 2012, and has whittled down his entries to Shogun and Beacon Rock. Shogun’s task looks a tough one judged on his failure to make any impact in either the Derby or Irish Derby but Gallinule Stakes winner Beacon Rock is of a bit more interest. He failed to make Ballydoyle’s Epsom team but showed improved form when runner-up in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last time, albeit when able to dictate matters. He’ll have the assistance of Ryan Moore again and has been declared in blinkers having been tried in cheekpieces a couple of times last year.

The field is completed by last-time-out winners Mont Ormel and Spring Master who both have a bit to find. Mont Ormel won a listed race on heavy ground at Compiegne last time but isn’t guaranteed to stay this far, while Spring Master, runner-up to Talismanic two starts ago, was only a narrow winner of the Prix du Lys at Chantilly and it would be something of a surprise if he could emulate last year’s winner of that race Erupt by following up here.

Recommendation:

Back Mekhtaal in the Grand Prix de Paris

Timeform weight-adjusted ratings

128+      Mekhtaal

128        Cloth of Stars

126        Red Verdon

124        Beacon Rock

122        Talismanic