Banks Hill facing males again

Banks Hill, withdrawn from the Prix d'Astarte last week because of the soft ground, steps back into Group 1 company against colts Sunday for the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville.

Third in both the Prix d'Ispahan and the Prince of Wales's Stakes, Banks Hill is still seeking her first victory against males. Her chief rival from the opposite sex in the one-mile Marois will be the inconsistent Ispahan winner Best of the Bests, who has since finished unplaced in the Group 2 Queen Anne Stakes.

Banks Hill may have more to worry about from 3-year-old colts Medecis and Bowman, second and third in the French 2000 Guineas. Perhaps even more dangerous are the fillies Turtle Bow - whose victory in the one-mile Group 2 Astarte was her fifth in six starts - and Tashawak, a sharp winner last month in the Group 2 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket.