CHANGE THE WORLD STAYS REALLY WELL

There were five races over a mile and a half on the Bordeaux Le Bouscat card last Saturday and CHANGE THE WORLD (38) ran nearly two seconds faster than any of them to take the Listed Derby du Midi (Derby of the South).

In the early stages Change The World was held up, fourth of the five runners, about six lengths off the strong pace. But he was being niggled along to keep his position at halfway. However as the effects of the testing ground and searching gallop began to tell with half a mile to run Change The World started to race much more smoothly and began to gain ground just as his rivals started to look uncomfortable.

Entering the two furlong homestraight the field swung wide to reach the better ground and Change The World came widest of all. Nonetheless he still moved up smoothly and quickly to take a narrow lead. But then, just as he looked set to draw right away he spooked at something, jinked badly to his left, nearly got rid of his jockey and dropped back to fourth. He was going so well though that he barely missed a beat, and quickly surged past his rivals once he was back on an even keel and won easing up full of run by nearly three lengths.

On his previous two starts, on faster ground and off a slower pace, Change The World had looked sure to win when he made his challenge but lacked the pace to go by the leader and went under by three quarters of a length each time despite passing the post full of running. This time the much more testing circumstances clearly favoured him strongly.

Change The World won his only start at two over nine furlongs and clearly stays tremendously well. I've little doubt that he would now be unbeaten in all five of his starts if his last two races had been a greater test of stamina.

The question now is where does Change The World go from here? It looks like he doesn't have the push-button acceleration needed to win French Group races over middle distances. They are invariably slow run affairs. So unless it came up soft I suspect he'd get done for speed if taking up his engagement in the Grand Prix de Paris.

The Swiss Derby is another race Change The World is entered in and that would be a pretty soft target. French raiders have won 18 of the 26 runnings of the race and it's often won by a horse that's not even Listed class.

Change The World is also in the Swiss St Leger. But if he were mine I'd be thinking in terms of the St Leger at Doncaster instead.

The race I'd love to see Change The World in right now would be the Queen's Vase. The two miles of that race would suit him down to the ground and I salivate over the prospect of getting a big price for him there.

COASTAL PATH THE BEST STAYER IN YEARS

The Prix Vicomtesse Vigier is the top stayer's race run in France during the first half of the season. But COASTAL PATH (43) made it look like an everyday handicap as he blasted five lengths clear to keep his unbeaten record after six races. In doing so he earned the biggest speed rating I've awarded a horse at any distance in Europe this season and equaled the biggest speed rating I gave all last year.

I spent a lot of time trying to find a way to give Coastal Path a lower speed rating, but this proved impossible. This was undoubtedly the best performance we've seen from a stayer in years.

The two greys ORION STAR (40) and PONTE TRESA (38) tag teamed Coastal Path. First one set the pace and then the other. Together they ensured a searching gallop, clearly trying to draw the finishing kick out of Coastal Path. But it was to no avail. Once set down in the straight he fairly sprinted away, still clocking less than 24 seconds for the last quarter mile despite being made to go much faster in the early stages than he's ever had to before.

Forget about Yeats and the rest. Unless something goes horribly wrong Coastal Path is surely going to win the Ascot Gold Cup.

It must be very tempting for the connections of Coastal Path to take up their charge's engagement in the Coronation Cup. But they'll surely hold off attempting the cut back to a mile and a half until the Arc de Triomphe.

It now becomes very interesting to speculate just how effective Coastal Path might be at a mile and a half. Physically it does look a bit of a challenge as he's a tall, long striding sort. But he does possess a serious turn of foot and his half brothers Martaline and Reefscape were effective over the distance. I guess it's all going to come down to pace. If he got a strong pace to run at, as he did here, then I'd bet on him being awfully hard to beat in the Arc. If they went slow then sprinted it would be that much harder. Of course there is always the option of employing a pacemaker - something that trainer Andre Fabre has done many times in the past.

Runner-up Orion Star is most unlucky to be around at the time of such a formidable opponent. He has now chased Coastal Path home in two big stayers' races in a row and is clearly every bit as good as he was when finishing third in fast time to Scorpion in a very fast renewal of the Grand Prix de Paris back in 2005. He was laid off for two and a half years but is clearly as good as ever. He rallied well here after allowing Ponte Tresa to take the lead off him around halfway, where I suspect his jockey felt that one was going just a bit too fast. He was totally outpaced by the winner but is clearly a useful stayer in his own right.

Ponte Tresa has placed ten of the twelve times he's run in Group company without winning. The problem is stayer's races are a slightly stronger discipline in France than in Britain or Ireland, so there are always one or two good enough to beat him. If he were mine I'd target Listed or Group 3 races outside of France with him.

BLUSTER BLOWS THEM AWAY AGAIN

BLUSTER (37) had scored in seriously fast time on his racecourse debut and confirmed he's the best two year old we've seen so far by running even faster to take a hot winner's race at Maisons-Laffitte.

Bluster is all about speed, so it was no surprise to see him bounce out of the stalls once more and set a scorching pace that had four of his six rivals in trouble within a couple of furlongs. The jockeys on the remaining two started rowing away with more than a furlong to go as Bluster maintained the gallop. He then edged away from them in the closing stages while only ridden with hands and heels.

As I noted before, Bluster already looks like a three year old. He's a good-bodied, muscular, mature sort that's built for five and six furlongs, as his pedigree would suggest.

The future programme for Bluster pretty much writes itself. There's next month's Group 3 Prix du Bois over five furlongs followed by the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin over five and a half in July. Then there's his big shot of Group 1 glory in the six furlong Prix Morny in August.

I'd be happy to take a pretty short price about Bluster winning all three of those races. The real challenge will come if his connections decide to step him up to seven furlongs or a mile later on. Seeing the way he's built and bred, and the way he runs flat out from the start, it's hard to see him getting beyond six furlongs. If he were mine I'd be more inclined to take a shot at the Prix Abbaye against older horses instead to round off his two year old campaign.

Runner-up LITTLE ANCHOR (35) is built and bred to go much longer trips. So he did well to keep tabs on the winner for so long. He'd won his two previous starts in Marseille easily and is clearly a useful two year old. But I think he won't really come into his own till he has the chance to run seven furlongs or more.

SILVER FROST (34) did well to chase the two previous winners home on what was his racecourse debut while pulling six lengths clear of the rest. He's built and bred to go a mile or so, maybe more and will surely do well over longer trips in future. Here my feeling is that he would just about have finished second if he hadn't run around at halfway and lost ground through greenness.

JOCKEY CLUB A BIT SHORT FOR PROSPECT WELLS

Prospect Park, the brother of PROSPECT WELLS (38), only lost the Prix du Jockey Club in a photo. But that was when the race was over a mile and a half. Now that it has been cut back to ten and a half furlongs I reckon it will prove to be too short for Prospect Wells despite his success in the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe over just ten furlongs.

I say this because Prospect Wells is a tall, long striding sort that looks built for every inch of a mile and a half. He won the Prix Greffulhe because there was a small field and he was able to come wide to deliver a lengthy run down the outside and get up close home. In a bigger field in the Prix du Jockey Club he'll almost certainly have his run interrupted at some point, and I doubt he has the push-button acceleration required to get going again in time. It certainly looked that way here. He's a horse that lengthens rather than quickens.

That said Prospect Wells is clearly a very useful horse. And I reckon he will improve on this performance when stepped up to a mile and a half. He was able to run down the leaders here in a fairly slow run race that developed into a sprint finish where they clocked just over 22 seconds for the final quarter mile. In the dying strides he was really beginning to clear away and would have won by about two lengths in another furlong from the way he was traveling.

Jockey Oliver Peslier said afterwards that one reason Prospect Wells improved here was that he is much better being held up and having a target to run at than being the target himself, so he changed tactics and dropped the horse out to last here following three second place finishes in a row on the horse's last three starts.

On his previous start Prospect Wells had pulled hard early when ridden prominently in an even more slowly run race and then ran green before just failing to catch front running RIPPLE (38) with a storming late run.

This time Ripple again made the running but always looked like getting run down by the winner. He's a smaller, more pacey sort that looks an out and out ten furlong horse on looks. This is not surprising because he's by Rock Of Gibraltar out of a dam whose seven winning progeny scored 14 of their fifteen wins at less than a mile and a half (the sole mile and a half win coming in a minor race at Seville).

Ripple's best known half brother is Slickly who won the eleven furlong Group 2 Prix Noailles before cutting back to a mile to win three Group 1 races.

My gut feel from watching his last two races, and especially from the way a stayer caught him here when he was allowed to set a slow pace, is that Ripple is not quite Group 1 material.

Third placed TROIS ROIS (38) might well improve a bit on this run. Like the winner he is a long striding sort that looks likely to appreciate a mile and a half.

Trois Rois had won his only previous two starts over ten and a half and eleven furlongs, the most recent one by setting a slow pace and winding it up from the front. There he went five lengths clear early in the straight. But here he was held up and couldn't quite catch the first two though gaining ground all the way up the straight.

Despite having a dam whose sole win came over five and a half furlongs, Trois Rois clearly stays well. His trainer felt that he was beaten by a better horse in Prospect Wells here, a sentiment that I share. But he said he'd still be going for the Prix du Jockey Club. The likely stronger pace will help him there, just as it will the winner.

MAYWEATHER A LIVE OUTSIDER FOR THE JOCKEY CLUB?

I've never been a great fan of under-sized horses. They come off worst in the traffic which big races involve. And they don't take their racing as well in my experience. I know you can quote examples of brilliant small and smallish horses like Ribot and Mill Reef, but they still had a bit of substance to them. The latest below average sized horse to appear on the big race radar does not. I'm talking about TRINCOT (39), a narrow, light-framed colt who produced a good burst of speed to take the Prix de Guiche in surprisingly fast time considering the moderate early gallop.

Trincot has now won all three of his starts this year, beating subsequent French Guineas winner Falco in the first of them. Clearly his trainer is right to say that he has strengthened and improved over the Winter.

Last year Trincot had an unusually heavy campaign for a French two year old, running six times. He lost all his starts but did run a half length second to the very smart Thewayyouare in one of them. However he ended up with an official rating of just 88.

My gut feel is that Trincot's connections are right to doubt their charge's stamina for the extra furlong and a half of the Prix du Jockey Club. I also feel that he's just bound to run into traffic problems trying to deliver his trademark late run in the big field which normally lines up at Chantilly. His three wins have all been scored in fields of eight or less where it's been easy to avoid traffic problems.

Runner up IN CHAMBERS (39) looks a better prospect for the big race. He's a bigger, stronger sort that looks built for middle-distances. His sire is the Champion sprinter Oasis Dream but his dam has produced two winners over the Leger distance plus a hurdles winner.

In Chambers had only three prior runs, winning for the first time over a mile at Saint-Cloud on his seasonal debut. He showed his inexperience by jumping a path after three furlongs but looked the winner when he took the lead with a furlong to go. He couldn't contain the winner's late burst but my feeling is that he'll get his revenge in the Prix du Jockey Club.

Useful as In Chambers is I reckon that if the Prix du Jockey Club winner ran in the race it was MAYWEATHER (38) who finished third.

Mayweather set a moderate pace up front and looked the winner turning in with two and a half furlongs to run. At that point he was still cruising. But as he stepped up the pace it became apparent he simply couldn't match the speed of the first two in what developed into a sprint finish.

I think the combination of the slow pace and the cut back in distance did for Mayweather here. He won over ten furlongs as a two year old, so it makes sense that nine furlongs off a slow early pace wouldn't suit him.

Mayweather has a flowing, daisy-cutting stride that's designed for nothing but firm ground. So I'm happy to draw a line through his flop in the Prix Noailles on heavy going. He'd won three in a row before that and looks a live outsider for the Prix du Jockey Club.

ARCADIA'S ANGLE INTERESTING FOR ST JAMES' PALACE

ARCADIA'S ANGLE (38) clocked a fast time to win the Listed Prix de Pontarme over a mile up the straight at Maisons-Laffitte. The fast time was due to the fact that rank outsider Basile Premier (14) went off like the clappers and was six lengths clear by halfway before tiring badly.

Arcadia's Angle was the only horse still on the bridle with two furlongs to run and soon cleared away to win by a rapidly widening four lengths. He'd met trouble in running when fourth as favourite in the Prix de Fontainebleau and gone under by just a head on his seasonal debut. But he'd won his previous two starts following a third place finish on his seasonal debut. So with a bit of racing luck he might just have won five in a row.

The storming late run Arcadia's Angle produced here was somewhat reminiscent of his sire Aleberan who became Champion sprinter in America. His dam's previous two foals were both best at less than a mile too. So clearly a mile is going to be as far as Aracdia's Angle is likely to go. This means that his only viable Group race entry is the one he holds for the St James' Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. He'd certainly make an interesting candidate there.

I suspect that Arcadia's Angle is going to improve as he gets older because right now he's a wiry, rather narrow, thin-necked colt that looks like he has a lot of growing to do. Right now though he's already ready to mix it with the best of his age group over a mile.

PONTE DI LEGNO A DECENT TWO YEAR OLD

PONTE DI LEGNO (34) ran second to the top French two year old Bluster on his racecourse debut over five furlongs. He improved a bit when stepped up to six furlongs at Saint-Cloud.

In a race where most of his rivals were having trouble handling the turn or getting out of each other's way due to the slow pace compressing the field, Ponte Di Legno grabbed the rail and made all the running. That's not to say he didn't win the race on merit. When runner-up GOOD BYE MY FRIEND (33) made a determined run at him all the way up the straight Ponte Di Legno rallied to hold him in the flat out sprint finish.

Ponte Di Legno is a rather narrow, medium sized, somewhat immature sort that looks built for seven furlongs or perhaps a mile. He's by Sinndar out of the Group 1 winning sprinter Porlezza so clearly has a smart pedigree. I suspect he'll prove competitive in Group company over longer trips, especially in races around a turn seeing how well he handled one here.

Good Bye My Friend is a mature, good-bodied sort who clearly would have appreciated a stronger pace. He has the physique of a miler and should also improve over longer trips.

Third placed LANDO JUNIOR (32) is also good-bodied and mature but looks built for even longer distances than the first two. This is not surprising as he's by the brilliant mile and a half horse Lando out of a middle-distance mare. He stayed on well and will surely be franking this form with a win when stepped up to longer.

BARGOUZINE AND SMOOTH OPERATOR GROUP CLASS

Even though he'd never run before I figured that German raider SMOOTH OPERATOR (35) was a good thing to win a debutante's race at Chantilly.

First, Smooth Operator was one of only three horses that trainer Mario Hofer had entered in the Preis der Winterfavoriten, Germany's top two year old race.

Second, the two foals previously produced by Smooth Operator's dam (including his full brother) had both won sprints first time out in the first half of the season at two. And both were pattern class. One actually won a Listed race on its debut.

Third, the owner of Smooth Operator paid a supplementary entry fee to get Smooth Operator into the race after normal entries were closed.

Sure enough Smooth Operator was soon cruising along in a clear lead. With a couple of furlongs left it looked like there was no way he could get caught because he was moving so well. But then he changed leads, lost his balance slightly and jinked towards the rail, losing a fair bit of momentum in the process. His jockey took a look back over his shoulder, clearly hoping he was far enough clear so that he could let Smooth Operator simply coast to an easy win. What he saw was the Andre Fabre trained filly BARGOUZINE (35) charging down the centre of the track, gaining ground steadily with a long raking stride and running straight as a gun barrel. Smooth Operator's jockey tried to get his mount organized for one last effort but the filly soon got by and he wasn't that hard on his mount though he only went under by a neck. The first two pulled four lengths clear of the rest as a result of their duel.

Smooth Operator is a muscular, mature, close coupled sort that looks built for six and seven furlongs - the distances his siblings were best at. Long term his objective must surely be the seven furlong Maurice Lecroix Trophy in August. But right now I see he's just been entered in the Group 3 Premio Primi Passi at San Siro next month. He should be able to take that pretty easily I'd say.

Bargouzine is a big, strong, mature filly that looks more like a colt. She's by Stravinsky out of the high class Argentine mare Bailonguerra and looks built for a mile or more. She's got a big stride on her and does look rather an unusual sort to be seen out this early in the season, especially in France. I'm not sure how she'll do in the five and six furlong Group races for two year olds that are coming up in the next month or two. But she'll surely be a big player in the seven furlong Prix du Calvados at Deauville in August, a race her trainer won with Proviso last year.

PROVISO RUNS A GOOD TRIAL FOR THE PRIX DE DIANE

This year's Prix Saint-Alary was rather a farcical race as the winner, the maiden Belle Et Celebre (21) was allowed to set an absolute crawl of a pace while all her rivals fought for their heads behind her. Nothing challenged her at any point. So when she was set down for the sprint to the line two furlongs out she had so much left she was able to come home from there in about 22.9 seconds.

The fastest time any horse has ever recorded for the final two furlongs of a race in France to my knowledge was the 21.7 seconds clocked by Macoumba in the Prix Imprudence back in 1995. The Prix Imprudence is a six and a half furlong race. The Prix Saint Alary is ten furlongs. So basically Belle Et Celebre had a head start and it was pretty much physically impossible for any of her rivals to catch her.

PROVISO (20) did her very best. She turned into the straight just over six lengths down in last place and was still over five lengths down as they hit the two furlong marker. From there she finished much the best and was gaining ground rapidly to go under by only a length, meaning she clocked around 22.2 seconds for the last quarter mile which is about as fast as I've ever heard of over a middle distance.

Clearly I was wrong to suggest that the ten and a half furlongs of the Prix de Diane would be too short for Proviso. The reason she failed to pick up on her seasonal debut must have been lack of fitness. She would undoubtedly have won this race well had there been any sort of early gallop or if she'd been ridden closer to the pace.

The kind of finishing kick Proviso displayed here is exactly what wins big races on turf in America. So it's interesting to note that Proviso is Breeders' Cup nominated. Seeing that Fabre is bringing her along so slowly there has to be a very good chance he has the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in mind for her towards the end of the year.

SAGEBURG APPRECIATES CUT BACK IN TRIP

I suggested after his run in the Prix Ganay, where he tired in the last 100 yards, that it would be interesting to see SAGEBURG (35) over a shorter distance.. Sure enough he dropped back nearly a furlong and a half to take the Prix d'Ispahan.

Sageburg is a muscular, well balanced horse that can produce a good burst of speed. So he was well suited to the moderate early pace which resulted in a final quarter mile of about 23 seconds flat. He quickly caught and then sprinted away from his stablemate DARJINA (33) in the closing stages.

Sageburg has now won four of the five times he's run ten furlongs or less. But I'm still not quite sure that he truly gets ten furlongs in a strongly run race despite those two wins in minor company at the distance. Neither it seems are his connections as they entered him up in the one mile Prix Muguet earlier this season and still have him in the seven furlong Prix du Palais Royale.

Lines of form indicate Sageburg would have run to a rating of around 42 if this race had been true run. That makes him a threat to win again at the top level. But personally I'd prefer him over a mile rather than ten furlongs, there being no more Group 1's over nine furlongs now that he's won the Prix d'Ispahan over what is probably his perfect distance.

Runner up Darnina rather reminds of the yearlings I once saw at a stud farm. If you've ever visited one you'll know that the yearlings all seem to have shorter legs at the front than at the back. Their back ends seem to grow first. You quite often see two year olds look this way. But it's unusual in a four year old.

The problem with this kind of conformation is that it causes a horse to hit the ground pretty hard and makes them somewhat one-paced. That certainly seemed to be the case with Darjina here. Because after getting the better of TURFROSE (31) she was quickly outrun by the winner.

I think Darjina is always going to be a sitting duck in the top Group 1 races over this distance or less. I reckon she now needs to go up to ten furlongs. Her logical target would be the Eclipse where the uphill finish would offset her lack of finishing speed. Though I have to say the Eclipse looks like being a hot race this year.

Soft ground would make me more interested in Darjina's chances at any distance as this would also counter her lack of acceleration.

LOUP BRETON (32) finished best of all to take third over what is almost certainly an inadequate distance for him. Back over ten furlongs this improved four year old is surely going to take a Group 1 sometime this season.

TURFROSE (31) is a tall, gangly long striding filly. She set the moderate early gallop and it proved her undoing because she's not built to do well in a sprint finish. She was hopelessly outpaced. Over longer, off a stronger pace or over a longer distance she'll do a lot better.

LITERATO (27) was another that floundered in the sprint finish before being eased in the closing stages. Clearly he needs a much greater test of stamina and quite probably more cut in the ground.

VIVA EQUIANO!

I confess that I know little about racing in Spain. But I've noticed a growth in the number of Spanish horses doing well abroad in recent years, particularly in France, the country they raid most often.

It makes sense that Spanish racing should be on the up, just as the rest of the Spanish economy has since joining the EU.

In any event we saw the best example so far of the Spanish revival when EQUIANO (39) won a hot little Conditions race over five and a half furlongs at Maisons-Laffitte in seriously fast time.

Equiano is a good-bodied, rather big, mature, muscular, handsome sort who looks older than his three years. He was settled a length or so off the leader here and moved up readily to lead when shaken up. The useful Jane Blue (36) quickly pulled clear of the rest as he tried to go with him but Equiano kept on pulling further ahead as the line approached and still had plenty of run left in him at the finish.

It is always hard to tell just how good a sprinter is in France due to the lack of opposition over five and six furlongs. It's quite common for horses that have earned ratings around the same level as Equiano to better them by two or three points when they run against the stronger opposition to be found over sprint trips in Britain. I mention this because Equiano is entered in the Kings Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot

Equiano came from a long way back over what looked like an inadequate four furlongs to lose by just half a length to the useful Golden Santos on his racecourse debut at two. He's won all three times he's run over sprint trips on good or faster ground since. His two losses over sprint distances both came on soft ground. The first time was when he ran third in the Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte at two. More recently he ran half a length second to the top class filly Verba over six furlongs in very fast time.

While his record suggests he may be best on fast ground that run against Verba does not. Equiano's stride pattern doesn't help settle the matter as he shows little knee action and doesn't have a daisy-cutting stride either. If it turns out that he is best on a firm surface then he must be very good indeed to have run Verba to half a length in such fast time on soft. Certainly I'd consider him carefully for any sprint he contests, even the Kings Stand.

FALCO WINS A WEAK FRENCH 2000

The most basic thing I know about sectional times is that on dirt it's how fast they go early that matters whereas on turf it's how strong they finish.

By this measure Falco (36) was a very much sub-par winner of this year's Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas). He clocked a time two fifths of a second slower than Zarkava managed in the big fillies race over the same course and distance. And he ran the last three and a bit furlongs a full second slower as well as clocking three fifths of a second slower for the final furlong and a half.

I recognize that Falco was visually impressive. But his only win in four previous starts came in a minor unlisted event. It seems to me that he's really not very good at all.

ZARKAVA DOES IT

ZARKAVA (38) took a while to get there. But when she finally arrived on the scene in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) she powered away from her rivals. She clocked a significantly faster time than in the French 2000 and also came home a good deal faster.

Zarkava has always looked desperately in need of a step up to longer distances. So logically she should improve when she goes ten and a half furlongs in the Prix de Diane (French Oaks).

The French three year old middle-distance fillies are a fair bit better than the milers Zarkava beat here. But she'll still deserve to be a warm order when she lines up for the big race in a few weeks time.

STARLISH PUTS UP SMART TRIAL FOR PRIX DU JOCKEY CLUB

STARLISH (38) should have won the Group 2 Prix Hocquart over eleven furlongs at Longchamp. He moved up impressively to take the lead with a furlong and a half to go and looked set to go on to win by a couple of lengths. But then his jockeys says he saw the exit to the racecourse stables and made a bee-line for them, diving across the track. This allowed DEMOCRATE (38) who he'd just passed to regain the lead. The jockey on Starlish switched his whip to steer him back onto a straight line, but unfortunately the horse then swerved the other way. He was moving so strongly that he still managed to close the length gap that he'd allowed the winner to open up down to a neck by the line.

If Starlish hadn't run so green he would have been winning his third race in a row here while earning a rating of 39 or 40 from me - which would be the biggest rating I've given a three old beyond a mile so far this year. His only loss came when he made his racecourse debut, as so many smart French horses do, at Deauville's big Summer meeting.

Trainer Eli Lellouche says that Starlish prefers the fast ground he ran on in the Prix Hocquart. This makes sense as the horse has a long flowing, daisy-cutting stride that's designed for a fast surface. The ground is normally fast for the Jockey Club, so everything looks teed up for Starlish to run a big race there. The obvious concern is that he's still showing major signs of inexperience and in a big, competitive field might get himself into trouble in the Prix du Jockey Club.

Democrate looks much more of a grinder than Starlish. My feeling is that he won this race partly because of luck and partly because of stamina. He was helped by the strong early pace which made the Hocquart a real test of stamina. But he was flat to the boards in the last furlong and it was a bit worrying how easily Starlish made ground on him despite wandering all over the track.

Democrate is bred to stay at least a mile and a half and certainly ran like he'd appreciate longer than the eleven furlongs of this race. His owner agrees and says he will likely be taking up his engagement in the Grand Prix de Paris over 12 furlongs. That race looks a better target to me than the Prix du Jockey Club where he'd be cutting back half a furlong to a race that often features a much slower early pace than Democrate got here.

Third placed BLUE BRESIL (37) is a good-bodied, tall strong sort with a huge stride that any jumps trainer would give their eye teeth for. Indeed he is a half brother to the promising hurdler Veloso. He made his challenge with the winner in the straight, but was then made to look woefully one-paced as that one rather rapidly pulled a length clear of him.

I don't think Blue Bresil will have the pace to be a threat in the Prix du Jockey Club. But I bet the big British and Irish jumping owners will be trying to buy him at the end of the season.

It is hard to know what to make of the performance of hot favourite FULL OF GOLD (35). He'd looked like a seriously good horse when winning the Prix Noailles but was under pressure to keep up after just two furlongs here. His jockey certainly earned his fee because he had to row Full Of Gold along throughout the race.

In the straight Full Of Gold couldn't get to the principals and his jockey allowed him to come home in his own time once he'd secured fourth place which was clearly as good as he was going to do.

Trainer Cricquette Head said after the race "He was the shadow of himself today and blew a lot after the race. It was simply not normal and his running is a mystery."

The only explanation I can come up with, and I concede it's probably wrong, is that Full Of Gold is at his best when able to use his devastating turn of foot in a slow run race. The hat trick he scored before this was achieved in a string of slow run races.

Perhaps some better explanation will emerge in time. But for now I'm inclined to oppose Full Of Gold in the Prix de Jockey Club and hope that race will tell us more about the horse.

PERCOLATOR COMING TO THE BOIL

PERCOLATOR (34) is a light-framed two year old filly that has blazing early speed and can sustain it all the way. She did this when blitzing a field of fillies in a Conditions race at Longchamp over five furlongs.

The amazing thing is that Percolator not only clocked a time three full seconds faster than the colt's division but came home two fifths of a second quicker over the final quarter mile. She was simply running away from her rivals. She'd done something similar at Lingfield on her precious outing where she clocked 34.06 seconds for the last three furlongs.

British and Irish two year olds hold a big edge over their French counterparts this early in the season - partly because five and six furlong sprints are rarely run in France so their horses are bred and trained for longer distances.

In any event trainer Paul Cole is looking to send Percolator back to France again soon where she will have a real shot of winning a Listed or Group race. The concern would be that she might bump into the super-speedy Bluster who I reckon could beat any British or Irish raider right now.

LOUTKA A SERIOUS CONTENDER FOR PRIX DE DIANE

Andre Fabre once said that it takes a Group class horse to win a maiden race on the Paris circuit. This is usually true and certainly seems to be the case with LOUTKA (37) who clocked a seriously fast time to win a fillies 10.5 furlong maiden on her second lifetime start at Maisons-Laffitte.

Loutka was slow into her stride and last for the first 100 yards or so. Thereafter, despite a decent early pace, she rather quickly worked her way up to sit half a length off the pacemaker all the way until entering the short homestraight. Inside the two furlong pole her jockey asked her to go and win her race and Loutka lengthened, and stretched four lengths clear smoothly and rapidly before seeing her winning margin narrowed slightly by a strong finishing SATURNINE (35).

Loutka is pretty decent size for a three year old filly and quite deep-chested. So I can see her getting a mile and a half without a problem. This run makes her look an obvious contender for the Prix Saint Alary and Prix de Diane.

Quite how good Loutka is I can't yet say for sure. She's certainly good enough to win in Group company and should have a real shot of at least placing in a Group 1. However she's disproportionately long in the back, kind of gawky looking and angular. And in my experience the majority of Group 1 horses look like Group 1 horses. Loutka doesn't, so I suspect Group 2 or 3 will prove her limit.

MADAWAY SHOULD GO TO AMERICA

MADAWAY (36) produced a terrific turn of foot to win a nine furlong maiden race at Chantilly, picking up six lengths on the leaders in the last two furlongs. She surged up on the outside to win comfortably, only having to be ridden with hands and heels.

As you might expect, Madaway is entered in the Prix Saint-Alary and the Prix de Diane (French Oaks). But I rather suspect that nine furlongs is her perfect distance and she won't stay further. She has a noticeably short neck and you rarely see that on a horse which stays ten furlongs.

In this regard it's interesting to note that the two previous winning foals out of Madaway's dam were both milers. One of them is the very smart American miler Silent Name who, like Madaway, can produce a terrific burst of acceleration. Those two winning foals were by Sunday Silence who gets plenty of mile and a half plus winners in top company. Madaway is by the miler Machiavellian who rarely gets good horses that go anything like that far.

I suspect Madaway will tire and run unplaced when she's stepped up to the ten and a half furlongs of the Prix de Diane. After that she'll surely be snapped up by an American buyer because there are plenty of big stakes races in America for fillies over nine furlongs.

I don't think Madaway would be quite good enough to feature in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas). But the mile of that race will probably be a better bet for her than ten furlongs if she stays in France. Nine furlongs being a rare distance in pattern company in Europe.

FAIR BREEZE KEEPS IMPROVING

FAIR BREEZE (39) improved steadily in the second half of last season. First of all she finished a good fourth in a big field to Wiesenpfad in what I rated the joint fastest race run in Germany last season. Then she lost the Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio in a photo. Then she beat the Group 2 winner Scatina by a couple of lengths.

Fair Breeze continued the improvement when traveling to France to take the Group 3 Prix Prix Allex France in impressive style over ten furlongs at Chantilly.

Fair Breeze broke well and found herself disputing the lead early on. Her jockey looked behind, clearly wanting to drop her in. But there was no room so he allowed her to stride on in second place through most of the race behind CLAIRE ET BLEU (36) who was setting a strong pace.

Entering the straight Fair Breeze was the only horse still on the bit as she moved strongly just off the leader. When she was shaken up the response was immediate, prompting the commentator to excitedly rattle off 'trois, quatre, cinq' as she quickly extended her margin over her pursuers. She passed the post still moving strongly to win by four lengths in very good time.

Trainer Mario Hofer said afterwards that he wasn't that surprised by Fair Breeze's win as she'd worked well with a Group 1 horse a week beforehand. But he said he was surprised by the margin of her success.

Clearly Fair Breeze has now established herself as one of the best middle distance fillies in Europe, and is yet another example of the remarkable way so many German bred horses improve from four to five. She looks to have a favourite's chance of taking the Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud when she returns to France in a few week's time.

GRIS DE GRIS KEEPS ON WINNING

The Prix du Muguet is invariably at least as good a race as the Lockinge Stakes. So I've never understood why why the British race ranks as a Group 1 while the French race only gets a Group 2 tag from the International Pattern Committee.

In any event this year's winner of the Muguet was the much improved GRIS DE GRIS (40) who would have been winning his fourth race in a row this year if a controversial photo finish had gone the other way last time (the racecourse commentator announced him as the winner, and it sure looked that way - but the photo revealed his head was up and his rival's down on the line. Some said his jockey was too easy on him and was trying to win cleverly.).

Gris De Gris chased the front running PERSIAN STORM (36), one of Andre Fabre's many German imports, early on, kicked clear after leading two furlongs out and then kept going strongly to hold off another member of Fabre's German battalion, the Group 1 winning filly TURFROSE (38).

Jockey Thierry Thulliez said with satisfaction afterwards: ''The last time I hit him three times with the whip and we were only beaten on the nod. I have been much criticized. But instead of winning a Group III, you win today a Group II. . I am really happy to win a Group race in Paris with Gris Gris who is a quality horse.. This year he is stronger than ever. He still has a great room for improvement and I hope it will not stop there.''

Trainer Jean-Marc Capitte added: ''This is a really good horse. I took the option to run him in this race on the racetrack he likes (he would have won his last three runs in a row at Saint-Cloud if that photo had gone the other way). Now we'll maybe go to Deauville in the Jacques Le Marois.''

The milers are invariably the weakest group in European racing. So it's quite possible Gris De Gris will prove fast enough to win the Marois when he comes back from his planned rest. But it's interesting to note that there may be a reason why Gris De Gris likes Saint-Cloud, and that's because it's left-handed.

Gris De Gris won on his racecourse debut over five and a half furlongs around the seven furlong right-handed oval of Salon-de-Provence. But he only won in a photo and that was such a weak race all the horses which chased him home are now racing in claming company. Since then his wins have all been on left-handed courses. In fact if that photo had gone the other way last time he would have won all six times he's run on left-handed tracks when he's had a run within the last five weeks. Since his winning debut he's lost all eight times he's run around right-handed courses.

Of course the Marois is run on a straight course which may well suit Gris De Gris. In any event he's clearly a smart horse.

Runner-up Turfrose is a big, tall, strong, deep-chested rangy sort that you could easily see jumping a fence. Indeed her brother Turfshuffle recently won over hurdles in Britain for Nicky Henderson. She clearly appreciated the decent pace set by her stablemate and finished strongly from the rear up the straight to take second close home.

The next objective for Turfrose apparently is the Prix d'Ispahan. But looking at how he's built I have trouble seeing her being fully effective over the extended nine furlongs of that race. Her record says the same thing. Her big win came over ten furlongs on soft ground in the Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio. And her best run before that was when she stayed on strongly to take fourth in a big field in the Oaks d'Italia over eleven furlongs.

If she were mine the races I'd be shooting for with Turfrose this year would be the Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Vermeille over a mile and a half. Clearly she showed here that she can run close to her best over a mile. But this was a very strongly run mile and many French races over longer trips are slow run affairs which won't suit Turfrose.

It was good see see Persian Storm improve on his second start for Fabre. He undoubtedly needs a longer trip. In fact he would have won all three times he's run middle distance on good or faster ground if one photo finish had gone the other way. He earned a rating of 40 from me as a three year old last year and I'd watch out for him to improve in the Summer when the ground will be in his favour and he steps back up in distance.

Persian Storm only seems to have one way of running, and that is to set a good pace. So he should make some of the top French races more of a stamina test than they normally are this season. Actually here he raced with a bit more restraint than he showed in Germany, which allowed the last two furlongs to be run in less than 24 seconds. Clearly therefore he's not just a tearaway.

ANITQUITIES DONE FOR SPEED

ANTIQUITIIES (33) looked a good thing to give Andre Fabre his tenth winner of the Group 3 Prix Cleopatre at Saint-Cloud on my speed ratings. So I wasn't surprised she started at a shade of odds on.

In her sole previous start, Antiquities had settled in second behind a strong pace on soft ground and then accelerated smartly to score by six lengths. This time things were very different. With nothing else prepared to go on her jockey took her into the lead soon after the start and set a moderate pace.

Turning into the two and a half furlong straight Antiquties was asked to sprint. And she duly did so, stretching on into a lead of nearly two lengths. LEO'S STARLET (32) came from second last place to chase her inside the last furlong but was still a length down with just half a furlong left. From there though Leo's Starlet produced a tremendous burst of speed which carried her past Antiquities to a three parts of a length success.

Antiquties is a very different type of horse to Leo's Starlet. She's a lean, rangy sort with a big stride that can lengthen rather than quicken. Leo's Starlet is a much closer-coupled more muscular sort with a shorter stride. She seemed to be putting in two strides for every one of Antiquities' in the closing stages.

I am now not sure that the ten and a half furlongs of this race and the Prix de Diane is far enough for Antiquities. Then again it is normally run at a much stronger pace than this. And Antiquities will surely be able to find some cover instead of having to make her own running and become a sitting duck to a horse with a turn of foot as she was here.

I find Leo's Starlet rather hard to assess. She won her two previous starts (both minor events on Deauville's Fibresand track) and has yet to run a fast time. Her stride pattern suggests she's not going to act on anything but firm ground. And despite being by Galileo, her physique suggests the 10.5 furlongs of this race will he her limit (her dam's wins came over eight and eight and a half furlongs).

There are plenty of slow run French races where the turn of foot Leo's Starlet showed here is a potent weapon. But I rather wonder whether she's good enough to take a Group 1. My feeling at this stage is that Antiquities will turn the form around in the Prix de Diane.