Keeping up its morning theme, Chantilly stages a fascinating renewal of the G3 Prix Bertrand du Breuil Longines for the older milers at 11 a.m. on Monday, with Jean-Claude Seroul's beloved Skalleti (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) back in the limelight following a stellar 2019 campaign. Scaling the ladder effortlessly with wins in the Listed Prix Jacques de Bremond at Vichy in July and G3 Prix Quincey at Deauville August over this mile trip before securing the 10-furlong G2 Prix Dollar at ParisLongchamp in October and G2 Premio Roma at Capannelle in November, the 5-year-old's class as well as his readiness will be tested here as he attempts to give four pounds to some talented rivals. Among them are a pair of Godolphin-Fabre runners in Nature's Colors (GB) (Poet's Voice {GB}) and Impulsif (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), with Mickael Barzalona on board the former.
Nature's Colors looks to be the archetypal lightly-raced potential class act nurtured like so many others by his master trainer and that impression was confirmed as he made light work of his 4-year-old bow in Deauville's Listed Prix Altipan over 7 1/2 furlongs on the Polytrack before the lockdown Mar. 6. Impulsif captured the G3 Prix Messidor over the straight course on turf at that Normandy venue last July before meeting with defeats when fourth in the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein at ParisLongchamp in October and when third on his return in Chantilly's Prix Montjeu conditions race on the Polytrack Mar. 3.
Godolphin's Lisa-Jane Graffard said of the duo, “Impulsif and Nature's Colors go into this race in good form, but it is a very competitive Group 3 with some Group 1 performers, as well as some really tough campaigners who have run several times this year already. Nature's Colors has shown his best form on slower ground, while Impulsif ran a shade disappointingly here last time, so we will need to see some improvement on that.”
Successful in the Prix Montjeu in which Impulsif was third, Silver Quartz (GB) (Frankel {GB}) promises to become another successful recruit among the Al Asayl ranks to the Francis-Henri Graffard stable. That trainer also runs the former Wertheimer representative Plumatic (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) who now sports the silks of Gerard Ryan. Successful in the 2018 G3 Sovereign S. and last year's G2 Prix du Muguet, the talented but sparely-campaigned 6-year-old adds further intrigue to a race which also features Gerard Augustin-Normand's Listed Prix Haras de Bouquetot winner Pretreville (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}) and the once much-vaunted 2018 G3 Prix des Chenes winner Anodor (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}).
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