Deauville Sunday

2.50 Prix Rothschild (Group 1) (3yo+ Fillies) 1m (straight)

Willie McCreery’s Ocean Jewel and the Joseph O’Brien-trained Rogue Millennium look up against it as they take on some of the best fillies in France as part of a seven-runner field for the Group 1 Prix Rothschild over Deauville’s straight mile on Sunday.

While defending champion Mqse De Sevigne has three top level victories to her name, Blue Rose Cen four, and Kelina one, the Irish pair have yet to make their mark in Group 1 company.

Rogue Millennium in particular has had plenty of opportunities – this will be her eight attempt – and would need to improve significantly on even her creditable recent third in the Falmouth Stakes to make her Group 1 breakthrough here.

Ocean Jewel is less exposed after only nine career appearances. But the form of her victory in the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes at the Curragh in May (when Rogue Millennium was over two lengths behind in third) has taken plenty of knocks, while she was most disappointing in last month’s Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot, when Rogue Millennium finished well in front of her in fifth.

Trained by Andre Fabre, Mqse De Sevigne won this last year and took on the boys for the first time in her life when landing the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan nine weeks ago and still has the pace to handle this drop back to a mile.

Her stiffest opposition is likely to be provided by Kelina, from the Carlos Laffon-Parias yard, who stayed on well late on her belated comeback in a Group 3 affair at ParisLongchamp last month and showed what she can do on her favoured fast ground when landing the Group 1 Prix de la Foret at ParisLongchamp last October.

One of the stars of the 2023 season, Blue Rose Cen has been some way off her best in two starts since being transferred to the Maurizio Guarnieri stable at the beginning of this campaign and has more than two lengths to find on Mqse de Sevigne on that d’Ispahan form.

SELECTION: MQSE DE SEVIGNE

Next Best: Kelina

Later on the card, O’Brien is also represented in the Group 3 €80,000 Prix de Psyche Sky Sports Racing. His lightly-raced Zoffany filly Uluru, a fine fourth in the Sandringham Handicap at Royal Ascot last time out, faces four locally-trained rivals as she goes beyond a mile for the first time in this mile and two furlong contest for three-year-old fillies.

German preview

Grosser Dallmayr-Preis - Bayerisches Zuchtrennen (Group 1)

LEADING German colt and winner of last season’s Deutches Derby, Fantastic Moon is taken on by the three-year-olds Penalty and Wintertraum in tomorrow’s Group 1.

After finishing last in the Prix Ganay, Fantastic Moon got back to winning ways in June in the Group 2 Grosser Preis von WETTSTAR.de over a mile and three on good to soft in Cologne.

This will be an interesting test, but one he should overcome. Penalty, trained by Henk Grewe with Thore Hammer Hansen on board, and Wintertraum (Waldemar Hickst/Bauyrzhan Murzabayev), will give a good line on this year’s three-year-olds.

After winning the Listed Merkur Spielbanken Derby Trial at Dusseldorf by over three lengths, Wintertraum was sent off favourite for the German Derby but only finished sixth of the 18 on July 7th.

Penalty won the June 23rd Group 3 Grosser Preis der Wirtschaft at Dortmund, having finished second to Devil’s Point in the German 2000 Guineas. Wintertraum should improve on his Derby run but still come up short against the older horse.