Deauville Sunday

2.15 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest (Group 1) (3yo+) 6f 110y

The weather on the Normandy coast in the next few days may not be quite as important as it was 77 years ago, but it still holds the key to the potential success of an invading force, this time in the shape of some of the best sprinters from Ireland, Britain and America.

A fantastic renewal of the six and a half furlong Group 1 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest, featuring no less than six individual top-level scorers among its dozen-strong field, not to mention intriguing Group 1 wannabes such as the most improved horse of the year, Rohaan, and the winning machine that is Marianafoot, will most likely be decided by the state of the ground.

Deauville Racecourse had dried out to be officially ‘good’ when racing took place there on Thursday evening, but showers are forecast, some of the them heavy and thundery, so anything is possible come race time: 2.50pm tomorrow.

If the weather remains dry it is hard to get away from the claims of Ed Walker’s stable star, Starman, who has been dodging testing conditions all season but finally found the fast surface he has been looking for in the July Cup.

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He did get a little outpaced on the downhill approach to the sixth and final furlong of that Newmarket contest, but the way he powered up the final incline to score by an ever-widening length and a quarter suggests that Sunday’s extra 110 yards should be ideal.

That was just the sixth start of his life, so even though this Dutch Art colt is already four years old, further improvement is virtually guaranteed. Starman does have one piece of form with some cut in the ground (a York Group 2 victory in May) but his only ever defeat was a heavy one, on bad ground at Ascot last October, so the heavens opening does seem to be his biggest threat.

The other confirmed top-of-the-ground performers in the line-up are Aidan O’Brien’s Queen Anne Stakes runner-up, Lope Y Fernandez, and Marianafoot, whose current six-race unbeaten sequence stretches back almost 18 months. But neither is likely to have the speed to live with Starman.

However, if it pours, a number of proven mudlarks are waiting to take advantage. Top of that list is the US raider, Campanelle, winner of the Group 1 Prix Morny at this venue a year ago and triumphant again in the Commonwealth Cup on a soggy Royal Ascot Friday seven weeks ago.

The other two Irish contenders, Ken Condon’s Law Of Indices and the Joseph O’Brien-trained Thunder Moon, also come into the picture on the back of their one-two finish over seven furlongs of this track in last month’s Group 1 Prix Jean Prat.

Also worthy of consideration are Glen Shiel and Brando, the first two home when Starman tasted defeat for the only time, plus Kinross, a cosy winner against strong Group 2 competition at Goodwood last week, and the remarkable Welsh-trained Rohaan, who only last December was rated a mere 55 before he began a winning run that saw him prevail both at Group 2 level and at Royal Ascot.

Whatever the weather, a stunning race is in prospect.

SELECTION: STARMAN

Next Best: Campanelle

Aidan O’Brien seems to be confident that the rain will stay away as he has stumped up a supplementary entry fee to enable Mogul, who is ill at ease on anything but a sound surface, to take part in the main supporting race, the 12-and-a-half-furlong Group 3 OSAF Prix de Reux.

If Mogul can return to the form that saw him lift both the Grand Prix de Paris and the Hong Kong Vase at the end of last year, he will be hard to beat.

But he has looked a bit off colour so far this term and may struggle to give the 10lb weight-for-age allowance to the German Derby runner-up, Alter Adler.