TIME HAS COME FOR GOLDEN CENTURY

The good three year old middle distance colts just keep on coming. In a division already overflowing with talent yet another potential star has arrived in the form of GOLDEN CENTURY (39) who has just won the Prix Daphis.

Golden Century is a well proportioned, very muscular sort that doesn't really have the physique or temperament to stay much more than ten furlongs. He's just too pacey and keen going to stay longer.

He certainly looked to not quite stay the mile and a half when third two runs back despite a modest early pace. He was really keen in the early stages and obviously wanted to go faster and looked likely to win turning in with the lead. But he got passed and in the last furlong the first two were getting away from him as he looked to be getting tired.

Next time out Golden Century was cut back to a mile and had no trouble keeping tabs on the leaders despite a strong early pace. He ended up powering away in the closing stages to score by two and a half lengths in Group 3 class time.

In the Prix Daphnis Golden Century was allowed to stride on in front, setting a decent pace and moving freely. But he looked more relaxed than before if still a little green (his ears kept going this way and that). Jockey Maxime Guyon was actually able to keep a little up his sleeve for when his rivals came at him up the straight. And he only had to give Golden Century one slap of the whip at the furlong pole to hold them all at bay comfortably, easing up at the line.

My feeling from watching this run is that Golden Century can run a smidge faster than this and that ten furlongs is going to prove his optimum trips. He’s now won all three times he’s gone less than a mile and a half. His obvious short term objective would be the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano over ten furlongs at Deauville in August.

BEACON LODGE IS A TOP CLASS MILER

The Group 3 Prix du Chemin du Fer du Nord at Chantilly was a hot race this year. And it was won in Group 1 class time by the British raider BEACON LODGE (41) who came from far back in last place off the scorching early gallop.

Beacon Lodge always seems to need his first run of the season. But he's won four of his other five starts over trips longer than six furlongs. His sole loss was a good second place finish to the very smart Main Aim who I rate a Group 1 performer on my speed ratings.

The step up to a mile clearly suited Beacon Lodge greatly here. He now rates as one of the very best milers in Europe on my speed ratings. The race I'd be aiming him at is the QEII as that race normally features a very strong early gallop, and that obviously suits him.

Runner up SAHPRESA (39) has so far only won in Listed company but she keeps on banging out speed figures that would win many Group 1's against her own sex. She had trouble finding a run here and only got clear when the winner had flown. But for this she would have almost certainly equaled her best lifetime speed rating of 40.

I do hope Sahpresa runs in a big race outside France sometime this term as punters elsewhere probably don't seem to realise how good she is. She was a warm favourite for this race but went off at 12-1 when a rather unlucky loser of a British Group 3 last term.

STACELITA'S ARC PRICE IS A JOKE

STACELITA (39) proved that she could handle fast ground when winning the Prix de Diane by four lengths. But the clock says she is quite some way off what's needed to beat colts in Group 1 company let alone win the Arc. She's relatively light framed and leggy and simply doesn't have the size or substance needed for the job. The 6-1 that the bookies are offering about her chances for the big Longchamp race is a joke.

One thing that made things a whole lot easier for Stacelita was that her main rival FANTASIA (34) boiled over in the preliminaries and ran well below form. Cumani's filly ended up getting so tired she was weaving around approaching the last furlong and wasn't given a hard time thereafter.

Obviously Fantasia will need a rest after this. After which the race I'd shoot for with her would be the Preis der Diana, the German Oaks. It offers a big prize and I reckon the best chance for Fantasia to win a Group 1 this season.

WESTPHALIA SHOULD GO FOR SECRETARIAT STAKES

Watching the Prix du Jockey Club it was hard not to wonder what the result of the Derby would have been if the Epsom race had been run at a similarly strong pace.

Thanks to Feels All Right and Set Sail taking each other on at a breakneck pace up front the Prix du Jockey Club was a much stiffer test than the Derby. But oddly enough the winner still turned out to be a Guineas horse whose trainer had publicly questioned his stamina just as was the case with Sea The Stars.

The winner was of course LE HAVRE (42) who clocked a seriously fast time which indicated the rain that fell before the race didn't have time to get into the ground.

Le Havre enjoyed a very clean run through on the rails throughout. Held up in around eighth place, he entered the straight ten lengths off the tearaway pacemakers and soon began to close up rapidly. He had to be switched out around one horse briefly a furlong and a half out, but lost no momentum. He soon caught the one-paced runner up FUISSE (41) and kicked away from him to open up a gap of a length and a half by the line.

The effect of the early gallop meant that they took 19 seconds to run the last furlong and a half. This is unusually slow for a top class race, especially a French one. For comparison Elusive Wave clocked 16.9 seconds for the last furlong and a half of the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

I did not expect Le Havre to stay the distance. But he did so really well and off a very strong pace too. However I think the idea of him staying the Arc distance is a bit of a reach and doubt that his connections will pay to supplement him for the race.

From a commercial standpoint the logical thing to do is to let Le Havre take up his engagement in the St James' Palace Stakes. A win over a mile in that Group 1 race would prove his versatility and add to his stud value. The only fly in the ointment is that the St James' Palace Stakes quite often features a modest early pace and a sprint finish. Le Havre's two best runs have been in the Prix du Jockey Club where the early pace was strong and in the Prix Djebel where Naqoos set a searching gallop.

Runner up Fuisse is a big, tall sort with a huge stride and no acceleration whatsoever. He actually looks like a steeplechaser. This is not surprising. His dam won three times over hurdles and was placed several times over fences (she never ran on the flat). Her first three foals were jumpers too. But then she produced Full Of Gold who won the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud over ten furlongs.

Last year national hunt dams produced the winners of both the Prix du Jockey Club and the Prix de Diane in Vision D'Etat and Zarkava. Fuisse very nearly made it two Prix du Jockey Club winners in a row for the offspring of jumps mares.

The trend towards using national hunt mares to inject stamina into flat race pedigrees has so far only established itself in France. But the idea of using German mares like Le Havre's for the same purpose took a while to catch on too. So I'm betting we'll soon be seeing some big Irish stud farms experimenting with the idea.

This season Fuisse's connections have done the right thing and sent him into the lead in an attempt to offset his lack of acceleration. First time out in a ten furlong Listed race he didn't really go fast enough to take the sting out of his rivals finishing kick and ended up once more getting outpaced in the closing stages to finish third. But on his latest start before the Prix du Jockey Club he went off a good deal harder over a mile and the ground was yielding rather than good to firm as on his previous start. This enabled him to grind his rivals into submission. He ended up winning by six lengths in what I rated Group 1 class time.

Fuisse would make a great chasing prospect. But on the flat he's always going to be vulnerable to rivals with a better turn of foot. He'll be lucky to ever again have a race set up for him as well as this one was. However even with the finish run out of his rivals he was still caught pretty easily by the winner as he lumbered through the final furlong in 12.8 seconds.

It's obviously a good idea to let Fuisse take up his engagement in the mile and a half Grand Prix de Paris. Perhaps there will be a couple of Coolmore pacemakers in the race that will set it up for him. But my feeling is that if ever Fuisse is going to win a Group 1 race it's going to be on soft ground.

WESTPHALIA (40) came from off the pace to take third, running his best ever race. But seeing how he drifted towards the rail in the closing stages, flashed his tail and shortened his stride in the last 100 yards (all clear signs of tiredness) I'd be pretty sure that the ten and a half furlongs of this race represents the limits of his stamina. This being so I'd be inclined to skip the Grand Prix de Paris and Irish Derby with him.

Seeing the importance a Group 1 win will have for his stud value, I'd say the race for Westphalia just has to be the Secretariat Stakes. Westphalia can be supplemented for the mile and a quarter US race for just $16,000 as late as July 31st. He's already proven that he can handle US conditions with his close second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and would likely start hot favourite, maybe even odds on for the $250,000 race at Arlington. If he lined up for the Irish Derby or Grand Prix de Paris he'd rightly be 10-1 or bigger, and I'd bet on him not staying the trip.

BEHESHTAM (39) had a very wide draw and was about seventeen lengths off the scorching pace up front with half a mile to go. He gained over a dozen lengths from there and passed eleven horses to reach fourth place by the line.

Beheshtam is a strong, rangy, scopey sort that's built for a mile and a half plus but also has the kind of physique that can produce a decent turn of foot. He shows a little knee action. He is the first foal of Behkara who won a Group 2 over 1m 7f and finished second and third in the Group 1 Prix Royal Oak (French St Leger) over half a furlong longer.

On his first start Beheshtam ran in a strongly run maiden over 1m 5f on yielding ground at Maisons-Laffitte. Dropped out last, he closed up just after entering the straight but initially had his path blocked and had to take up. His jockey at first made a move to swing round the outside but then decided it would be okay to push his mount through what was a narrow gap. Beheshtam had to be ridden along to take the gap. But once he was through it he was clearly going way better than any of his rivals. He cruised clear with his jockey sitting near motionless and able to take a look back at his rivals as they slipped further behind.

Beheshtam passed the post moving very easily, clearly with a good deal in hand. Yet he clocked a time that was only a length or two per mile off Listed class.

On his only subsequent start, twelve days before the Prix du Jockey Club, Behetsham ran in a red hot Listed race at Longchamp that's produced a couple of Prix du Jockey Club winners, the Prix l'Avre. This time the distance was a mile and a half.

I thought Behetsham had his work cut out in the Prix l'Avre to beat Claremont, a horse that's either Group 1 class or very close to it on my speed ratings. But such was Behetsham's reputation after his impressive debut win he started odds on.

The early pace set by Claremont's pacemaker wasn't great. Certainly it was slow enough to make the final time a bit slower than it would have been off a stronger gallop. Logically this should have compromised Behetsham's chances as much as Claremont's (a horse that needs a strong pace as he lacks push-button acceleration). But Christophe Soumillon showed amazing confidence in his mount's ability to pick his rivals up in the sprint finish, only switching him out to the centre of the course to make his run one furlong from the finish. At that point Behetsham had three horses in front of him and over two lengths to make up. But he did it comfortably with an impressive surge of speed, winning by a short neck.

Officially the going was good to soft at Longchamp. Race times on the grande course on which the race was run indicate that's correct, but you can see from the video the rail on the home turn was pushed out markedly, so the slower times were simply due to the horses running about 30 yards longer than normal. This is confirmed by race times from the same day on the adjacent petite and moyenne courses, and by the fact that the runners weren't throwing up big divots like they would on yielding ground. The going was genuinely good in my opinion, as it was for the Prix du Jockey Club. So we now know that Behetsham can act on at least good going, though his trainer has still expressed concerns about running him on anything faster.

Beheshtam is a Group 1 horse on my ratings. And he did well here seeing that he had the triple whammy of faster ground, a cut back in trip and a wide draw to overcome.

Trainer Alain Royer-Dupre said afterwards "He ran very well. Let us not forget that this was not his true distance, which is around a mile and a half. He is a horse that's going to go well in the big races this Autumn. He will run in the Grand Prix de Paris if the Longchamp track is in good condition, which will probably not be the case. When it is too dry, it becomes dangerous. "

Beheshtam's jockey Christophe Soumillon, added: "I regret that the distance was shortened by a furlong and a half. At a mile and a half we would have won. He lacked experience and was beaten only by milers."

If he were mine I wouldn't think of risking Beheshtam on ground that may well be too fast for him in the Grand Prix de Paris. Seeing how soft the ground has been in Ireland the season I'd be strongly inclined to supplement him for the Irish Derby instead. Failing that I'd go down the traditional Prix Niel and Arc de Triomphe route and hope that the going turns up soft at Longchamp for Europe's biggest race.

The seventh horse home VESUVE (38) ran an odd race. He was held up well off the pace but made rapid progress up the straight, squirreled his way through a narrow gap on the rail and took the lead briefly with a quarter mile left to run. But despite not looking tired he then fell back as rapidly as he'd moved forward before rallying in the last 100 yards. I don't think he hit the rail. He might have got bumped by Beheshtam or just taken a bad step. But whatever the reason, I'd bet on Vesuve proving better than this.

Vesuve is a loose limbed, muscular, ten furlong sort that's built to produce a turn of foot. He must have cost a bit as his dam was the four time Group 1 placed Verveine who has produced the Group 1 winner Vallee Enchantee and five other horses that won or placed in pattern company before Vesuve did.

Oh his first three year old start Vesuve clearly improved for the step up to a mile and a quarter. In a Conditions race where the mud prompted the jockeys to go really slow early on at Saint-Cloud he swept past everything late with a smooth run, ridden only hands and heels to win easily. It was a nothing race and the runner up only ran second in a claiming contest a couple of days ago. But he was impressive.

It was a similar story in a slightly stronger Conditions race at Longchamp next time, this time on fast ground. Vesuve sat in last place till three furlongs out then swept down the outside once more to win narrowly but comfortably, again only ridden with hands and heels. The early pace was stronger but it was still a sprint finish. The runner up looked a threat briefly which is worrying as he's still a maiden after six starts, none of which have been in pattern company.

Vesuve was stepped up to Group 3 class for the Prix de Guiche next time over nine furlongs. No doubt due to the cut back in trip, his jockey kept him in fifth race, around two and a half lengths off the lead early. Unfortunately shortly after entering the straight everything went pear shaped. A whole battalion of horses closed suddenly and hemmed him in completely. He ended up in eighth place with just nowhere to go and his jockey unable to ride him at all the way to around 250 yards out. Then a gap opened and Vesuve surged through it. He closed really strongly but the first and second had first run on him and he couldn't quite get there, losing by just half a length to the winner Calvados Blues.

I think Vesuve would have won the Prix de Guiche with a clear run. It could be that his performance there and in the Prix du Jockey Club indicates he dislikes being crowded in a race. In this regard it's interesting to note that his two wins to date have come in six runner races.

For a horse whose trainer says he only just gets ten furlongs FEELS ALL RIGHT (8) was certainly given an odd ride. Basically he had no chance of lasting home at the pace he took this field along. In his earlier starts he'd looked like a Group 1 horse and surely needs to go back to being held up for a late run as he was last year. It worked well to make the running on him at a slow pace to beat tiny fields in his first two starts this season. But going off at the pace he went here was a total waste of this horse's terrific pace.

PROVIDANZA SHOULD GO FOR PRIX DE DIANE

The Prix des Lilas at Saint-Cloud on Monday gets my vote for being the hottest Listed race of the year. Horses from the British, French and Irish Guineas contested the race, and there were pattern placed runners from Britain, Ireland and Germany facing smart French competition.

Not surprisingly the race was much the fastest on the seven race card. In fact I gave the winner PROVIDANZA (39) a speed rating that suggests she should go for the Prix de Diane, even though it comes just a few days after this race.

Providanza is a compact, well proportioned filly that's built and bred for middle distances and has already won over ten furlongs. So the strong early pace and heavy ground were a big plus for her as they made the mile of the race ride more like a mile and a quarter. She came down the outside, moving smoothly with a furlong and a half to run. HALLIE'S COMET (37) tried to go with her and pulled clear of the rest as she tried. But with a couple of cracks of the whip Providanza was away and gone to score by two and a half lengths.

Providanza won a slow run Saint-Cloud maiden in a bunch sprint finish a couple of runs back when stepped up to ten furlongs. She's rather a classy looking sort that's clearly got a nice turn of foot.

Despite her physique, form, pedigree and future entries suggesting she wanted longer I thought that the huge price available about Providanza in the French 1000 Guineas last time was worth taking. And Providanza actually ran a fair race. The slow early pace and sprint finish could not have suited her, especially on such fast ground, but she kept on well and even gained a little ground late, eventually finishing seventh of eleven, beaten six and a quarter lengths.

I don't think Providanza needs soft ground to produce the sort of form she showed on Monday. But if it stays muddy for the Prix de Diane on Sunday it clearly wouldn't hurt her chances. My ratings say she'd have a serious shot even against that brilliant mudlark Stacelita. If the race comes too soon I'd like to see Providanza take up her engagement in the Beverly D Stakes in America as she'd have a real chance there too.

I liked the way Hallies Comet powered clear of the other runners as she attempted to go with the winner. She showed plenty of stamina here and surely wants to go up significantly in distance. So far her best runs have been on soft ground. But I'm convinced that's simply because the sprints and mile races she's been kept to so far have not been a sufficient test of stamina on faster going. Her two siblings both won over a mile and a half. One of them ended up running in two mile races on the flat, the other in staying hurdles. I see Hallie's Comet winning in pattern company over ten furlongs plus sooner rather than later.

SCINTILLO SHOWS THAT ACCELERATION AGAIN

I thought that SCINTILLO (5) had a serious shot of overturning the hot favourite MAGADAN (5) in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly thanks to his superior turn of foot. Magadan is a scopey, rangy, long striding sort that lengthens rather than quickens whereas Scintillo has shown himself capable of producing a terrific burst of speed in a slow run race.

The result turned out to be what I'd hoped. But I have to say I was amazed at the way the race was run. Magadan's pacemaker Petrograd has been making the running at a strong gallop for his stablemates for three years now. But for some unaccountable reason this time his jockey decided to slow things up dramatically from the front.

The pace wasn't quite as slow as the Ormonde Stakes where Scintillo ran so well to be second to Buccellati (who I think has a serious shot in the Coronation Cup). But it was still far too slow for the runners to clock anything like a decent final time.

Magadan's chances were hugely compromised by the wild sprint finish up the straight. But I like to think that he'd have lost anyway as he and Scintillo have both earned the same speed rating of 40 from me before.

Scintillo had previously run the last four furlongs in just 45.35 seconds when winning the Winter Derby and had come home even quicker when chasing home Buccellati. He's clearly back to the form that enabled him to win a Group 1 from the brilliant Gladiatorus at two. When he gets the fast ground he needs he'll be a threat to take another race at the top level. If he were mine I'd be looking at the Hong Kong Cup, a race that's invariably run at a slow pace. His finishing speed would be a big asset there. Meanwhile he should have a big shot in the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud on his next start.

Magadan could easily take a Group 1 as well if he got a strong pace up front or perhaps some cut in the ground. The race I'd be looking at for him would be the Canadian International. He's run faster than the average winner of that race and it would make a better target than the Arc.