Philomene leads Godolphin charge at Longchamp

Philomene and Parchemin look to continue Godolphin’s fine recent record in the first two Classics of the French season – the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains – at Longchamp on Sunday.

Dubawi filly Philomene (Mickael Barzalona) drops back to a mile for the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, won by Castle Lady in 2019, following a hugely impressive victory over an extended 10 furlongs in the G3 Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud in early April.

Philomene scored over a mile at Longchamp on her only juvenile appearance in September as she overcame signs of inexperience to beat subsequent G1 runner-up Tasmania by a short-neck.

Lisa-Jane Graffard of Godolphin said: “Philomene is a very straightforward filly, who has enjoyed an uninterrupted preparation. Dropping her back in trip came under discussion very quickly after the Prix Penelope and Andre Fabre felt this race worked best for her timing-wise.

“She is a filly with a lot of class and Andre has very few worries about the trip. It’s obviously unusual to drop back in distance from a prep-race to the Pouliches, but it has been done before and he felt that it was the right thing to do.

“This is very much a springboard for the Prix de Diane but we are hopeful that she can run very well.”

Parchemin (Barzalona) bids to provide Godolphin and Andre Fabre with a third consecutive success in the mile Poule d’Essai des Poulains following Persian King (2019) and Victor Ludorum (2020).

The Lope de Vega colt was a close fifth over the same course and trip in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau – a race in which Persian King and Victor Ludorum also ran – and won on heavy ground on both his two-year-old starts, including Deauville’s Listed Prix Isonomy.

Lisa-Jane Graffard added: “We hoped that Parchemin would have run slightly better in the Prix de Fontainebleau but he ran well enough, all things considered. The ground was possibly a bit quick that day but the first two home look very strong contenders here again.

“He is a really lovely horse with a great temperament and a real standout physically. We have seen horses turn around the form between the trial and the Classic itself, and we are optimistic that Parchemin can improve on his seasonal return.”

Isle Of May (Vincent Cheminaud) and Ideal Beauty (Barzalona) finished second and third in the G3 Prix Sigy at Chantilly on Tuesday, 20 April and the three-year-old fillies take on seasoned sprinters in the G3 Prix de Saint-Georges over five furlongs on the same card.

Lisa-Jane Graffard said: “It’s unfortunate that Isle Of May and Ideal Beauty have to face each other again but they have such similar profiles and the fact that there are no foreign-trained horses in the race makes it look a good opportunity. They both get a nice weight allowance and should really appreciate racing over five furlongs.”

Alpen Rose (Barzalona) goes for a second Listed win in the seven-furlong Prix Maurice Zilber, having scored in the Prix Miss Satamixa on the all-weather at Deauville in December.

Urgent Appeal back on turf for G3 Prix Texanita: Urgent Appeal aims to consolidate an excellent winter on the All-Weather on his return to turf for the G3 Prix Texanita over six furlongs at Chantilly, France, on Monday.

The Andre Fabre-trained colt completed a hat-trick of Polytrack wins over an extended six furlongs at the same course when staying on well to take the Listed Prix Montenica in mid-March.

The form of that win has since been franked in Classic trials, with the fourth Fast Raaj winning the G3 Prix Djebel and fifth home Sky Angel finishing second in the G3 Prix Imprudence.

Mickael Barzalona partners the three-year-old, who failed to act on heavy ground on his only previous turf appearance at Chantilly in October.

Graffard said: “Urgent Appeal suffered a slight setback after the Prix Montenica, when he was a little under the weather, and might need this race as a result. Six furlongs is a nice distance for him and hopefully the ground is not too soft.”