Chantilly: Prix Jean Prat a sweet spot for Thunder Snow

Thunder Snow, the Godolphin colt who bucked just after the start and had to be pulled up in the Kentucky Derby, has found a sweet spot to win his first turf race of 2017 in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat on Sunday at Chantilly.

Just five 3-year-olds are entered in the one-mile race. Lightupthenight and the maiden Turf Laurel are 20/1 shots in antepost betting, the Freddie Head-trained Gold Luck 10/1, with Trais Fluors a hot second choice behind favored Thunder Snow in the bookmakers’ markets.

Thunder Snow, winner of the $2 million UAE Derby over dirt at Meydan in March, was back in action just three weeks after his Derby debacle, finishing second behind Churchill in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas. On June 20 at Royal Ascot, Thunder Snow was one place ahead of Churchill when third in the St. James’s Palace Stakes, and a repeat of either of those two performances would stand a good chance of winning the Prix Jean Prat. Thunder Snow, trained by Saeed bin Suroor, traveled to France to win the Group 1 Criterium International last fall, and the forecast good-to-soft ground should pose no impediment.

Trais Fluors, a Dansili colt trained by Andre Fabre, is unbeaten after four starts, one at age 2 and three this year. His first three wins came in very modest company, but Trais Fluors stepped up to win a Group 3 mile over the Chantilly course last out, though he is likely to need further improvement to handle Thunder Snow on Sunday.