Thursday

Europe's first 2-year-old contest of the year, Marseille-Borely's five-furlong Prix de Carqueiranne, takes place Thursday morning and has attracted a final field of eight newcomers. It features a trio hailing from the Fabrice Vermeulen yard, including €10,000 Arqana September graduate Bad Boy (Fr), who will become the first representative of Haras de Saint-Vincent's freshman sire Fas (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). The February-foaled bay is a son of Listed Prix Caravelle third Queendara (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), herself a daughter of Listed Prix Occitanie victrix and G3 Prix de Royaumont placegetter Dance...

Buried on a Thursday evening fixture, Leopardstown's double-act of Group 3 races, the Japan Racing Association Tyros S. and Silver Flash S., could easily be downplayed in a month where so many seismic shifts are taking place. A glance at the races' honour roll suggests the opposite should be the case, with the Tyros in particular boasting three subsequent Classic winners in the last eight years. They were the Galileo (Ire) trio of Gleneagles (Ire), Churchill (Ire) and Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) and all hailed from Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle stable...