G3 Prix de la Grotte

It is 16 years since The Aga Khan enjoyed the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches-G1 Prix de Diane double with Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar) and there was a genuine sense at ParisLongchamp on Sunday that he has a live prospect for a repeat. While the afternoon's G3 Prix de la Grotte winner Candala (Fr) (Frankel {GB}--Candarliya {Fr}, by Dalakhani {Ire}) can not yet be placed in the same bracket as that former luminary, the manner of her re-entry suggests that she is going to be one of the season's leading lights...

France's key mile Classic trials take place on Sunday, with ParisLongchamp hosting the G3 Prix de la Grotte and G3 Prix de Fontainebleau over the same course and distance of next month's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and Poulains. The Grotte sees some major names among the generation's fillies making their seasonal return, led by China Horse Club International's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac runner-up Rose Bloom (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Alain Jathiere's G3 Prix des Reservoirs winner Tulipa Chope (Fr) (Born To Sea {Ire}). The Aga Khan's four-length...

Fresh off her victory in the Listed Prix La Camargo last Saturday, Chic Colombine (Fr) (Seahenge) has been tasked with the Apr. 14 G3 Prix La Grotte followed by the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches on May 12, according to trainer George Boughey. The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing colourbearer was fourth in the G3 Oh So Sharp S. in October, and was making her eighth start on Mar. 16. "She was good, I think the fashion of her win was a bit surprising but it didn't surprise me that she won,"...

Returning to the same ParisLongchamp course and mile distance over which she had dominated the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc day, Yeguada Centurion SL's Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}--Queen Blossom {Ire}, by Jeremy) continued where she left off with an all-the-way success in the G3 Prix de la Grotte on Sunday. Sporting a red hood for the preliminaries, the even-money favourite was sent straight to the front by Aurelien Lemaitre and was asked to extend two out. Responding generously without the need for the whip, the bay had...

Andre Fabre's appetite for success in the major international prizes shows no signs of abating and Sunday's action at ParisLongchamp offers more culinary delights, with Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB}) at the heart of the party. Juddmonte's 'TDN Rising Star' has not been seen since winning by four lengths in a mile conditions event at Chantilly in September, but the daughter of Emollient (Empire Maker) was already big news even at that stage. Her re-entry in the G3 Prix de la Grotte sees her matched against Allan Belshaw's G1 Prix Marcel...