Two Group Ones at Longchamp

There is also a first-class card at Longchamp today, headed by two Group One events, the Prix Saint-Alary for 3yo fillies over 2000 metres at 14.35 and the Prix d´Ispahan over 1850 metres at 15.45. The latter event, for older horses, has attracted some top performers, including last year´s German Derby winner Wiener Walzer (Jens Hirschberger/ Adrie de Vries), who will be accompanied by a pacemaker.

The trip seems on the short side, but the fast going will be ideal. The star in the line-up however is undoubtedly Goldikova (Freddie Head/ Olivier Peslier), who is moving up in trip after proving herself to be the world´s best miler over the past two seasons. However it should not be forgotten that she flopped badly on her first outing of 2009, and may need the race today; however on ratings, she has nothing to fear, as she is in fact the highest-rated horse in the world. Stacelita (Jean-Claude Rouget/ Christophe Soumillon) is the other top filly in the field; she has a German pedigree but possibly needs softer ground than she will find today.

Stacelita won last year´s Saint-Alary and went on to take the Prix de Diane. Whether there any fillies in today´s field of similar quality remains to be seen, but all the top stables are represented, including Khaled Abdullah´s Deluxe (Andre Fabre/ Maxime Guyon), the Aga Khan s Sarafina (Alain de Royer-Dupre/ Gerald Mossé) and Godolphin´ s Hibaayeb (Saeed bin Suroor/ Frankie Dettori).

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Drole De Dame - Kasari - Hopespringshere
2. Race: Air Trooper - Lancelot - Kaage
3. Race: Sarafina - Deluxe - Dariole
4. Race: Monserrat - Aristote - At A Great Rate
5. Race: Goldikova - Stacelita - Byword
6. Race: Blek - Kasbah Bliss - Los Cristianos
7. Race: Hard Way - Day Spy - Montana Moon
8. Race: Filoudor - Pertuis - Counterbid