Sophomores test classic credentials in Maisons-Laffitte Group 3s

Sophomores test classic credentials in Maisons-Laffitte

Group 3s

Untested beyond six furlongs so far, Kiram tests his classic credentials over an extra panel in

Thursday's Group 3 Prix Djebel at

Maisons-Laffitte.

Rounding off his juvenile campaign with wins in the Prix Eclipse at Chantilly in

October and Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte the following month, the Elusive City

colt has stamina to

prove in this Guineas prep but as one of His Highness The Aga Khan's products from the extended

family of Linamix it will be a surprise if he does not last this trip.

Unlike Kiram,

Godolphin's Earnshaw is looking to hone speed after a two-year-old season played out

over a mile. After annexing the Prix Thomas Bryon on very soft ground at Saint-Cloud in

October, the gray son of Medaglia d'Oro went down by three parts of a length to Ectot

in the Criterium International back there at the start of the following month.

"I'm not sure if the course will suit him," trainer Andre Fabre told PA

Sport about Earnshaw. "He is coming back in distance, but it is better

to run over too short than too far at this stage. He would prefer it a little bit softer I think,

but he won his first race on good ground."

Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Thani's Charm Spirit

brings the form of the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere to bear, having finished third in

that Longchamp feature on Arc day.

Following the Prix Djebel, the fillies will get their own classic prep in the

Group 3 Prix Pmprudence.

There was a lot at stake for Ballymore Thoroughbred

after giving their daughter of Dansili the title of Miss France, but it is a case of so

far so good with two-year-old form that stands up to the closest inspection. Successful in the Oh So Sharp

going seven furlongs at Newmarket in September, the Fabre trainee returns

to stake her Guineas claims in the Imprudence at Maisons-Laffitte.

Having

earlier beaten the subsequent Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Indonesienne over a mile in a conditions event at Chantilly,

Miss France ticks a lot of boxes as the spring

classics near.

"She has done reasonably well over the winter and I'm happy with her condition," her

conditioner told PA Sport. "Sometimes this race can be very difficult to win, as some

see it as their target and are ready to run for their lives. That will not be the case with her.

It will be a nice introduction for her and I will be able to assess her after it. She was very

impressive at Newmarket and the form looks good. She works well but she has only had three runs,

so we are still learning about her.

"As for Newmarket, the ground will be the decisive factor.

We have had a good winter, so we may have a wet spring. She must have good ground. She has

already won over a mile and Dansili gets mile-and-a-half horses, so stamina should not

be an issue this year. Her dam was third in the Vermeille, also."

One who is stretching out

after a similarly stellar juvenile campaign is Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani's Vorda, who was fast enough to beat all-comers in the Prix Robert Papin

going 5 1/2 furlongs over the course in July and in Newmarket's Cheveley Park at six

furlongs in September. Also

runner-up in the Prix Morny at Deauville in between, the Orpen bay failed to see out the mile

of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf when seventh in her last outing at Santa Anita in November.

Another who has stamina to prove is Antoinette Tamagni's This Time,

who was runner-up to Prix Djebel protagonist Kiram in the Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte over six furlongs in November.

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