FRANCE’S biggest juvenile race of the season so far, the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly on Sunday, looked like being a cracking contest at the five-day entry stage, then suddenly withered away to just three intended runners on Thursday morning. Thankfully, the supplementary entry stage has come to its rescue, and now five contenders will line up for this six-furlong showpiece.

One thing for certain is that the result will be a cause for celebration in Co Tipperary, as the quintet, though all by different sires, are each offspring of Coolmore stallions.

Much the most likely winner is the Justify filly Ramatuelle, who continued the outstanding season of rookie trainer Christopher Head by taking the Group 3 Prix du Bois by a whopping five lengths shortly before her older stablemate Blue Rose Cen ran away with the Group 1 Prix de Diane on the same Chantilly card.

Surprisingly for a filly of such obvious quality, Ramatuelle already has one reverse on her curriculum vitae, when touched off in a conditions race over this trip in May, but her conqueror that day, Beauvatier, barely turned a hair in continuing his own unbeaten record at Deauville last Sunday, so the form is incredibly strong.

Two decades

After having to wait over two decades after his one and only previous Papin triumph (thanks to Rossini in 1999), Aidan O’Brien saddled a one-two in the race last year. This time around he is represented by the No Nay Never colt His Majesty, who is already battle-hardened in pattern company but lacks Ramatuelle’s brilliance.

A listed scorer on his debut back on May Day in the First Flier Stakes, he has since run well in defeat three times: when third in the Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes, fourth (behind his First Flier Stakes victim Valiant Force) in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes, and third again in another Group 2, the Railway Stakes.

The other three runners look set to take part in a battle for second place with His Majesty. Balsam needs to return to the form that saw her land a listed race at Vichy rather than repeat the standard of her never dangerous eighth in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes.

The only British candidate is Amy Murphy’s precocious Myconian, who will be having his seventh outing since late March but has put up his two best efforts on his last two starts, albeit over five furlongs each time, when sixth in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes and then when landing a less competitive listed contest at Deauville.

The field is rounded out by the Marseille-trained Calyx filly Classic Flower, who is taking a big step up in class but could do no more than win two small races at provincial tracks.

Messidor

Later on the card, Jean-Claude Rouget’s Erevann is unpenalised for last year’s Group 2 success and should account for a field including the William Haggas-trained Al Mubhir in the €80,000 Group 3 Prix Messidor over 1m while the German visitor Quantanamera may prove too strong for a second British hope, Henry Candy’s Araminta, in the €80,000 Group 3 Prix Chloe over nine furlongs.