SOMETIMES history doesn’t take very long to repeat itself.

At ParisLongchamp last Sunday the results of the 2022 renewals of the two French Guineas, the Emirates-sponsored Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and Poule d’Essai des Poulains, had a great deal in common with the previous year’s.

Again, the winner of the English 1000 Guineas, in this case Cachet rather than Mother Earth, put up a massive effort in trying to complete the quickfire classic double but had to settle for second place behind a locally-trained outsider, Mangoustine.

And, in the Poulains, an overseas raider from one of the world’s biggest training operations boasting exceptional juvenile form, made light of having his first run of the season to put the French colts firmly in their place.

This time it was Godolphin’s Modern Games rather than Coolmore’s St Mark’s Basilica who stamped his class on the race leaving trainer Charlie Appleby with an embarrassment of riches in the three-year-old miler division following the one-two he secured with Coroebus and Native Trail in the English equivalent.

Thankfully, what both races had in common this year was that they were clean affairs, run at a strong pace (particularly strong in the colts’ version) with few hard-luck stories despite being big-field events run on a turning track.

Sure, the front-running Cachet might have prevailed with a starting stall number of a little lower than 10, but that is hardly cut-and-dried.

And, though trainer Jean-Claude Rouget was quick to offer the opinion that we should forget the Poulains runs of his two strong fancies, Lassaut and Welwal, Lassaut would have always struggled after missing the break and, thanks to the false rail, had enough room up the inside in the home straight.

Welwal simply lacked cover on the outside because his jockey was worried about letting him get too far behind.

In the Pouliches, the favourite, Rosacea, did finish within a length of the winner after receiving a jolting bump on the home turn, but she too saved all the ground up the inside and suffered only minor interference.

If there was an unlucky horse on the day, maybe it was the Poulains runner-up, Texas, who put up a monumental effort for his young handler, Henri-Francois Devin, having showed brilliant early speed to get across to lead from stall 15.

While the 113/1 no-hoper did superbly well to hold on for second, he will not always find this combination of fast ground and a course which is favouring front-runners.