Saint-Cloud Sunday

2.55 Grand Prix De Saint-Cloud (Group 1) (4yo+) 1m 4f

Aidan O’Brien’s Broome gave Ireland its first ever victory in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud three years ago and on Sunday it is the turn of his full-brother, Point Lonsdale, to try to give Ballydoyle a second success in this mile-and-a-half contest.

The five-year-old son of Australia does boast some top-class form, not least a three lengths fourth in last September’s Irish Champion Stakes, but he beat some out-of-sorts rivals when running away with a Chester Group 3 last time out, and the suspicion remains that he lacks the turn of foot required to make an impact against the very beat.

Nevertheless, the surprise absence of the Andre Fabre-trained Werthheimer brother-owned pair of Junko and Pensee Du Jour, means that this race will take less winning than once looked likely and it will be a surprise if the remaining Fabre candidate, Sevenna’s Knight, quite has the pace to keep his winning run going on this drop back from a mile and seven furlongs.

Zarir and Feed The Flame were both disappointing last time out, having filled the places, close behind Haya Zark, in the Group 1 Prix Ganay, while I have reservations about all three of the British hopes in an eight-runner field.

Arrest is a late absentee and the front-running Outbox does not look good enough.

Which leaves us with Iresine, an utterly admirable seven-year-old gelding trained most sympathetically by Jean-Pierre Gauvin, who has forged a wonderful partnership with jockey Marie Velon, coming from behind to land two Group 1s and two Group 2s, at distances varying from an extended 10 furlongs to almost two miles.

The easy winner of his comeback in listed company in May, he had a racecourse away-day in Lyon last week, that should put his spot on for this tilt at a third top-level triumph.

SELECTION: Iresine

Next Best: Sevenna’s Knight

Later on the Saint-Cloud card, William Haggas has stumped up a supplementary entry fee so that Grey Charger can take on six fellow three-year-olds in the Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam over a mile and two furlongs.

This is a big step up from what Grey Charger achieved in landing a small race at Lingfield three weeks ago and preference is for Andre Fabre’s Dubawi gelding Hamavi, whose only defeat came at the hands of the Prix du Jockey Club hero Look De Vega.