MY preview for the first two classics of the French season envisaged some surprise results and stressed how quickly conditions change at this time of year.

What transpired at ParisLongchamp last Sunday was way beyond even my expectation: two races where the shortest-priced placed horse was a 17/1 chance, and a downpour between the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and the colts’ equivalent, the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, which changed the going from fast to soft in barely an hour. Many factors contributed to the eclipse of all the fancied horses. Most tellingly, the lack of a strong gallop in either race which meant that track position was everything, favouring those ridden prominently.

In the Pouliches in particular, if you were not in the first half dozen rounding the home turn, you could kiss your chance goodbye.

Overjoyed

Trainer Francis Graffard and the Aga Khan’s breeding and racing operation were overjoyed that Rouhiya (Lope De Vega) got up in the shadow of the post to land the Pouliches but their happiness was put in the shade by the reaction of the 34-year-old Italian-born Mario Baratti after Metropolitan (Zarak) showed guts aplenty to hold off various late challengers and lift the Poulains.

Baratti has only been training in Chantilly since 2020, and this was his initial Group 1 success.

The credentials (or should I say ‘lack of credentials’?) boasted by the two winners beforehand were quite similar.

Rouhiya was a 31/1 longshot thanks to her record of having never before contested a stakes race and having finished a modest third of eight in a minor course and distance event on her only previous 2024 start.

Indeed, she was only in the field because her Aga Khan homebred stablemate, Candala, had failed to please Graffard following her victory in the big trial race, the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte.

Metropolitan had a little more going for him – the 24/1 chance had at least won both of his juvenile starts, albeit against unspectacular opposition.

But his comeback race, and pattern debut, in last month’s Group 3 Prix de Fontainebleau had seen him trail home a never dangerous fifth of six, well behind two of Sunday’s opponents, Ramadan and Beauvatier.

The Prix Saint Alary provided Finnish native Laura Vanksa with her first big success as a trainer. Aurelien Lemaitre partnered the Study Of Man filly Birthe to a length and a quarter success with the Prix de Diane the next target.

Ponntos repeated his win of 2022 in the five-furlong Group 3 Prix de Saint-Georges, making all and speeding away by two and a half lengths under Mickael Barzalona. Ado McGuinness’ co-favourite Go Athletico could not get involved from stall two.

Rouhiya late surge snatches the prize

Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Group 1)

THE Pouliches was a story of two brilliant rides, one in victory and another in defeat.

As befits a man who has finished in the top three of the French jockeys’ championship in each of the past 15 seasons, winning it on three occasions, Maxime Guyon knows exactly what is required to win races over ParisLongchamp’s tricky round mile, and that knowledge was put to perfect use here.

Despite being drawn wide enough in stall 10 (of 15), Guyon somehow managed to get the prize position of ‘one back and one off the rail’ in the early part of the race and, mindful not to go too soon from his position disputing fifth place early in the home straight, he conjured a telling late burst from Rouhiya that saw her storm past the front-running Kathmandu just where it mattered and land the spoils by a head.

One could only feel sympathy for Kathmandu’s jockey, Sean Levey, who so nearly pulled off a heist, slowing it down in front before kicking for home at the two-furlong marker, and for her trainer, Brian Meehan, who has so often been forced to play a supporting role in classic dramas without managing to bag one.

Trapped wide

In contrast to Rouhiya, who was drawn beside her, Willie McCreery’s Vespertilio was trapped out wide for the entire race, but saw the trip out well to just edge Charlie Appleby’s Romantic Style to grab third, a neck behind the runner-up.

Aidan O’Brien’s Content pulled too hard in the early stages to give her a realistic chance but only dropped away late to finish eighth, beaten little more than two lengths. British hopes Folgaria and Chic Colombine, for both of whom the rain came just too late, trailed home in 11th and 12th, one place in front of Louise Procter, whose lack of experience at this kind of level was cruelly exposed.

Graffard said: “I thought I had my filly for the Poule with Candala but she ended up needing more time so we had to shuffle the pack. I have always loved Rouhiya, who is a stone cold good ground filly and came on so much for her comeback race on heavy ground.”

Poule d’Essai des Poulains (Group 1)

STRAIGHT after the Pouliches, the career of the recently-retired former champion jockey Olivier Peslier was recognised with a brief ceremony and a guard of honour in the paddock, then suddenly the heavens opened and 22 milimetres of rain fell in less than half an hour.

The great and the good were left huddling for shelter in their Sunday best as the monsoon took hold and the runners for the Poulains were returned to the racecourse stables as a 35 minute delay to proceedings was announced.

The going was changed from a ‘3.2, good’ on the penetrometer to a ‘3.5, soft’, though quite how much the rain got into the ground was a matter of conjecture: underfoot conditions certainly remained some way short of properly testing.

The first-time blinkered Orne set a none-too-testing gallop before folding quickly in the home straight.

Andre Fabre’s Alcantor, showing his poor Craven Stakes comeback run to have been all wrong, took over in front but was challenged on either side by Metropolitan and Ramadan at the furlong pole.

Likeliest winner

Ramadan looked the likeliest winner now, but his effort petered out and Metropolitan, who never had to leave the perfect inside spot from his number one draw, and was then able to utilise the false rail to find daylight in the last furlong and a half, battled on gamely to secure the prize.

Dancing Gemini came from midfield turning in to snatch second close home, half a length adrift, with Alcantor a further short-neck back in third.

Despite being one of the first off the bridle, Diego Velazquez proved much the best of the two O’Brien charges, overtaking Ramadan close home to finish fourth, while his stablemate, the 13/10 favourite, Henry Longfellow, saw his unbeaten record go up in smoke without putting up much of a fight. Never near the leaders at any stage, he finished eighth, four lengths behind the winner.

Baratti, who since leaving Italy has had spells with Marco Botti in England, Jim Bolger in Ireland and Pascal Bary in France, heaped praise on Metropolitan’s young jockey, Alexis Pouchin, but acknowledged that his inside draw had been ‘a gift from heaven.’

“If you watch closely, his run in the Fontainebleau was not that bad and I’m convinced that he will continue to get better with age,” Baratti added.

“I’d be keen on the Prix du Jockey Club for him if it didn’t come so quick, and he’s not entered in the St James’s Palace Stakes, but that race fits into his schedule much better so we might be tempted to supplement him.”

Second near miss

Dylan Browne McMonagle did absolutely nothing wrong in the saddle on Dancing Gemini and his trainer, Roger Teal, did not know whether to be happy or sad about a second classic near miss, six years after Tip Two Win had chased home Saxon Warrior in the 2000 Guineas.

“It’s both brilliant and cruel at the same time,” Teal said. “Dancing Gemini has made us very proud and proved himself to be the kind of horse that we have always thought he was.

“He’s bred to win a Derby and I’d love to take him back to Epsom [where he used to train and where his wife, Sue, hails from].”

A half-brother to both Broome and Point Lonsdale, Diego Velazquez will surely take a huge step forward once he moves up in trip, though it is hard to be quite so positive about Henry Longfellow’s prospects.