Connections say unbeaten Siyarafina can give more in French Oaks

Siyarafina will cement her position as the leading 3-year-old filly in France if she can remain undefeated as a heavy favorite Sunday at Chantilly in the Group 1 Prix de Diane.

France’s version of the Oaks, contested over about 1 5/16 miles, has long been the goal for Siyarafina, whose three wins to start her career are a maiden race, a conditions race, and the Group 1 Prix Saint Alary over 1 1/4 miles on May 26 at Longchamp.

The Saint Alary wasn’t the strongest race ever run, and a 50-1 shot named Olendon finished second, but in her second win, Siyarafina got home 1 1/2 lengths in front of runner-up Commes, who returned to finish second by a nose in the Group 1 French 1000 Guineas and is the general second betting choice in the Prix de Diane.

Siyarafina, an Aga Khan homebred by Pivotal and out of Siyenica, by Azamour, delivered a flashy debut win that put her name on the map and has done nothing wrong in her three races. Yet both regular rider Christophe Soumillon and trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre have suggested on more than one occasion that Siyarafina, for various reasons, still has plenty left in the tank and hasn’t been operating at a peak level. That’s a frightening thought since she’s been good enough already that 26 rivals over her three starts have yet to come within a length of beating her.

The going at Chantilly as of Friday, however, was rated very soft, and a radically wet turf course can be a great equalizer. Siyarafina won her first start over a soft course but might not be a filly who relishes truly laboring going.

Commes’s second last out in the Prix d’Essai des Pouliches came over a heavy Longchamp course, and while she hasn’t raced beyond one mile, her pedigree suggests Sunday’s trip should fall within her scope. Etoile, a three-time winner on very soft ground and comfortably best in a course and distance prep for the Oaks, also merits respect.