Goldikova goes for 15th Group 1 win in Jacques le Marois at Deauville

Just two weeks and a day after her win in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville, Goldikova seeks her 15th Group 1 win in Monday’s Prix Jacques le Marois in France over the same course.

Goldikova was even-money in future-book betting on Saturday to win the Prix Jacques le Marois, which is run over a mile and is annually one of Europe’s most important races in the division. The race carries a purse of approximately $850,000.

Trained by Freddy Head, Goldikova is part of a field of 12 in a race she won in 2009 but lost in 2010, finishing second to Makfi by 2 1/4 lengths. Goldikova recovered from that loss to win the Group 1 Prix de la Foret at Longchamp and the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs, the third straight year she won that race.

This year, Goldikova has won 2 of 3 starts, beginning with a win in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan and a second to Canford Cliffs in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes. Canford Cliffs has since been retired because of a leg injury, but Goldikova faces a formidable group in the Prix Jacques le Marois.

There are four other Group 1 winners from 2011 in the field – Mutual Trust (Prix Jean Prat), Planteur (Prix Ganay), Tin Horse (French 2000 Guineas), and Immortal Verse (Coronation Stakes). The Prix Jacques le Marois will be Immortal Verse’s first start since her win at Royal Ascot.

Others include Dick Turpin, the winner of the 2010 Prix Jean Prat who won the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot last month; Cityscape, who was third in the Queen Anne Stakes; Sahpresa, a Group 1 winner in England last year who was second in the Prix Rothschild; and the Italian Group 2 stakes winner Worthadd.

Goldikova, who has won 17 of 24 starts, will have a pacemaker in the 150-1 shot Flash Dance.

◗ In the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornaro on the same program, Golden Lilac, the winner of the French 1000 Guineas and French Oaks in the spring, faces 3-year-old males in a race over 1 1/4 miles. Golden Lilac is part of a field of eight that includes Waldpark, the winner of the Group 1 German Derby at Hamburg on July 3. Galikova, second in the French Oaks, is also in the race, which carries a purse of approximately $568,000.