Charyn© Photo Healy Racing
Charyn can make a claim for being the best older miler in training if he can follow up his Royal Ascot win in the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville on Sunday.
Roger Varian’s grey has won three of his four starts this season, with his sole defeat coming in the Lockinge behind Audience, a winner at Goodwood recently.
The four-year-old then ran out a dominant winner of the Queen Anne Stakes under his regular partner Silvestre de Sousa and the pair combine again in what looks a top-notch renewal in France.
Varian said: “He’s in great form and I’m happy with him. We’re nearly there now and we’re looking forward to seeing how we get on.
“He’s grown into himself this year and is starting to look the finished article. He’s always been a good horse and he just seems to have found a new level this year, which is great for everyone involved.
“We’re enjoying the journey and had a great day at Royal Ascot and hopefully he has another big run in him on Sunday.”
In what is a clash of the generations, Richard Hannon fields Haatem, just behind his brilliant stablemate Rosallion in the Irish Guineas.
He then dropped to seven furlongs to win the Jersey Stakes at the Royal meeting and takes on his elders for the first time.
“We gave him a little bit of time off to freshen up after Ascot, but Richard reports he’s in very good form,” said Richard Brown, European racing adviser for owners Wathnan Racing.
“It is obviously a very deep race, but he deserves to take his chance and we’re looking forward to seeing him run.
“We know he is tough and wears his heart on his sleeve, so he will put in a brave performance, I’m sure.”
John and Thady Gosden’s Inspiral, twice a winner of this race already, needs Ryan Moore to have a positive effect after two poor outings this season, while French 2000 Guineas winner Metropolitan also runs.
The one horse defending an unbeaten record is Simon and Ed Crisford’s Quddwah, who faces his toughest test to date.
“We discussed the Sussex, but we felt the track at Deauville, the straight mile would be more suitable for him. It’s a high-quality field, a very good race, but he’s got form to suggest he should be in the mix,” Ed Crisford told Sky Sports Racing.
“Callum (Shepherd) got on well with him at Ascot and has ridden him at home so it was an easy decision really to leave him on.
“The way Charyn won the Queen Anne was very impressive and if Inspiral can bounce back to form she’s a two-time winner of the race already, there’s the French Guineas winner there and Richard Hannon’s Haatem so they are all dangers. But we’re just hoping to run a really good race and we’ll learn a lot about him.
“I think he’ll suit a nice strong pace. When he hits the front Callum said he felt he was always doing enough and if they’d got to him (in the Summer Mile at Ascot) he would have gone again. I’m sure there will be pace with Big Rock in there.”
Maurizio Guarnieri is doing a rain dance ahead of Big Rock’s attempt to go one better than 12 months ago.
He showed what he was capable of when the mud is flying when winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Champions Day, but has struggled this season on quicker ground.
His owners moved him to Guarnieri from Christopher Head in the winter, but he has disappointed in both the Lockinge under last year’s jockey Aurelian Lemaitre and Christophe Soumillon in the Queen Anne. Now Cristian Demuro takes over.
“Big Rock has pleased me since he came back from England when the ground was too quick,” said Guarnieri.
“We know what he wants to be at his best so I have been dancing before the race for the rain!
“He was second in the Marois last year so we know he likes Deauville, but it is a very, very good race.
“The owners wanted Cristian to ride him this time so we will see how he gets on with him.”
