When the Prix de Royallieu (G1) was promoted to group 1 level in 2019, an extra 2 furlongs was added to the distance and, in six editions since, the home team has failed to post a victory at 1 3/4 miles.
Whether that losing streak can be broken Oct. 4 might rest squarely with the two trainers who have dominated the group 1 scene in France this season, Francis-Henri Graffard and Andre Fabre.
Graffard saddles Latakia, an imposing Juddmonte filly who didn't make her debut until the start of her 4-year-old season but flashed real quality in making it three wins from four starts in the Prix Alec Head (G2) at Deauville over 1 9/16 miles.
That was on much quicker ground than the daughter of Frankel will encounter here but her group 2-winning dam, Castellar, had plenty of form on slower going and Latakia has the physique to get through it.
In the Fabre corner is Indalimos, who has form with several of these rivals from her win in the 3-year-olds-only Prix Lady O'Reilly (G3) over the Deauville 1 9/16 miles.
The Sir Mark Prescott-trained Consent ties several strands of form together. She chased home Indalimos in that race and was then just touched off by Santorini Star, who seems to be progressing at a rate of knots, in the Park Hill Fillies Stakes (G2) over half a furlong further than this trip.
Santorini Star's trainer William Haggas may have crossed a black cat somewhere before the draws were made for his Oct. 5 runners at Longchamp. While stall 10 of 12 is not ideal for this filly, it should be less of an issue over this sort of trip. Haggas has won the race twice since the change of conditions in 2019.
Aidan O'Brien took the honors with Grateful 12 months ago and Bedtime Story leads a two-pronged challenge this time.
Like several of her rivals, Bedtime Story could have run instead in Sunday's Prix de l'Opera (G1) over 1 1/4 miles. She suffered a series of unfortunate defeats at that distance before stepping up to a mile and a half last time, finishing third behind Aventure and Gezora and just holding off Survie, who is also entered in the Royallieu.
Christophe Soumillon rides Bedtime Story for the first time and Dylan Browne McMonagle is on Island Hopping, who was third in the listed Oyster Stakes at Galway last time.
Coltrane Proven Entity in Wide-Open Cadran
Where are all the stayers? That was the cry when only three horses passed the forfeit stage of the Oct. 4 Prix du Cadran (G1).
Although a rash of five supplementary entries Oct. 1 has saved the family silver to some extent, the average rating of that quintet is 104, while very few in the field have any guarantee of staying 2 1/2 miles in soft ground.
From a punting point of view, we are left with few guarantees on the stamina front, with the three "original" entries already including Sunway, who David Menuisier reinstated when he saw the race cutting up.
"If he stays well he should be right there," Menuisier said at Saint-Cloud Oct. 3, fresh from saddling Ashariba to win the listed Prix Dahlia. "The only question mark I have is the trip, because the horse is feeling great and the ground will be fine. Whether he stays, I don't know."
Coltrane is the proven class stayer in the lineup, and has plenty of experience of this distance, having run in the last three Gold Cups (G1) at Ascot, including when narrowly beaten by Courage Mon Ami in 2023.
At 8, Coltrane is not getting any younger, but while Sunway has been finishing in and around better middle-distance opposition this season—notably future group 1 winner Sibayan in the Grand Prix de Deauville (G2)—the Mariscottis' wonderful servant is virtually the only runner who doesn't have a major question to answer at the trip.
Four of the supplementary entries have come from the barns of Francis Graffard (Coetzee), Andre Fabre (Sacred Spirit), Aidan O'Brien (Queenstown), and George Scott (Caballo de Mar).
