Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud: Hawk fits the bill

The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is France’s mid-season highlight for older middle-distance horses and was won two years ago by the dual Arc winner Treve. This year’s field lacks a standout performer, but it does feature several closely-matched contenders, including the first two home from last year, Silverwave and Erupt.

Silverwave lost his form later in the season, but he ran well considering the trip was on the short side when third on his reappearance in the Prix Ganay and has since accounted for a small field in the Grand Prix de Chantilly without needing to be at his best. This has probably been his main target all along, though, and he shouldn’t be far away in his bid to become the first dual winner since Ange Gabriel in 2002 and 2003.

Erupt went down by just over a length twelve months ago on good ground, and his connections, unlike those of some of his rivals, will be hoping conditions aren’t any softer this weekend. Erupt has suffered the two heaviest defeats of his career on soft ground but showed when winning the Canadian International last October that firm conditions are much more in his favour. He finished close behind Silverwave when fourth in the Ganay on his reappearance, and while he too will be suited by the return to a mile and a half, soft going would be a major concern.

The forecast rain in the Paris area, on the other hand, would be welcome for leading British contenders Hawkbill and My Dream Boat. Both won on ground softer than good at Royal Ascot last year, My Dream Boat enjoying his career highlight in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, but conditions were too quick for them at the Royal meeting last week and come here instead. They’ve met already this term in the Aston Park Stakes at Newbury on soft ground when Hawkbill, last year’s Eclipse winner, came out on top by two lengths.

Hawkbill has since finished third under firmer conditions behind Highland Reel in the Coronation Cup and there was no disgrace in that as the winner underlined he’s the best older middle-distance horse around at the moment when following up in the latest Prince of Wales’s Stakes. My Dream Boat ran respectably on his first try over a mile and a half at Newbury but made heavy weather of it. First-time cheekpieces may well have a beneficial effect, though the balance of his form suggests he has a bit to find.

The other British entry Robin of Navan is a frequent visitor to France and was rewarded with a Group 3 win in the La Coupe at Chantilly on his latest trip a fortnight ago, following on from a narrow defeat in the Prix d’Ispahan there the previous month. He’s clearly in good heart, though would need to improve again back up in grade over a trip he’s tried only once before when second in the September Stakes at Kempton.

Zarak has yet to try a mile and a half, though last year’s Prix du Jockey Club runner-up shaped as though he’d be suited by it when a narrowly-beaten second, ahead of Silverwave and Erupt, in the Ganay here in May despite his rider losing his whip. A repeat of that form would see him go close, though his subsequent poor effort in the d’Ispahan, when surely there was more to his performance than the slightly shorter trip, dents confidence in him somewhat.

The rest look up against it, though trip, track and ground (assuming it’s on the soft side) are all positives for Tiberian. His two course-and-distance wins this year have come in listed/Group 3 company, though a King George entry and talk of a Melbourne Cup challenge later on suggest connections believe he’s up to holding his own in better company.

It’s dangerous to rule out Andre Fabre runners but Doha Dream doesn’t hold an obvious chance on his Group 1 debut and will need to have come on a lot since finishing last of five, albeit not beaten far, behind Silverwave at Chantilly.

Fabre’s other entry is the filly Armande whose course win in the Prix Corrida last time came chiefly against some just useful members of her own sex. Also in that field was last year’s Prix Vermeille winner Left Hand. She improved on her run in the Corrida to finish fourth in the Grand Prix de Chantilly but it was a substandard Vermeille she won last year and it’s hard to see her emulating her dam’s half-sister Plumania who won this in 2010.

Silverwave is respected in his bid to win this again, while Zarak is interesting up in trip if his last run can be overlooked, but if conditions soften that will play into the hands of another leading contender on form Hawkbill.

Recommendation:

Back Hawkbill in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.