Cracksman highlights Longchamp's reopening

The grand opening of the new Longchamp Racecourse and the 4-year-old debut of Cracksman makes for an appealing daily double on Sunday in Paris.

Longchamp, closed two seasons for renovations, had a soft opening earlier in the spring, but Sunday is the publicized unveiling of a considerably revamped historical facility. The new Longchamp has been favorably reviewed, and expectations also are high for Cracksman, who ended his 3-year-old campaign with a soft-ground-inflated seven-length win in the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Cracksman’s stride got smoother as his 2017 campaign wore on, and there’s little doubt Cracksman bloomed from a talented but immature spring sophomore to a formidable Group 1 racehorse by year’s end under the watchful eye of trainer John Gosden. Third in the Epsom Derby and second in the Irish Derby, Cracksman made his first trip to France last fall for the Prix Niel, finishing third in what amounted to a practice run for the champion.

Winter plans called for Cracksman to debut this year in the $6 million Sheema Classic in Dubai, but Gosden and owner Anthony Oppenheimer waited instead for the Ganay, which will be 1 5/16 miles over going expected to be “good.”

While Cracksman makes his first star since Aug. 21, Cloth of Stars already has raced twice this year and could give Cracksman all he wants – and more – in the Ganay. Cloth of Stars won this race last year by a head over Zarak, and ended a solid campaign with a second-place finish to Cracksman’s stablemate Enable in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Trained by Andre Fabre, Cloth of Stars had an all-weather prep race at Chantilly before going to Dubai, where he gave the impression during morning training of a horse who would have preferred to be at home. He finished third there in the Sheema Classic. Cloth of Stars won his only Longchamp start and stands a good chance of beating a potentially ring-rusty Cracksman.

Also very worthy of note is the Aidan O’Brien-trained 4-year-old filly Rhododendron, who won the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera at Chantilly last fall before finishing second to Wuheida in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Rhododendron gets a female weight allowance from her male rivals as well as the services of jockey Ryan Moore.

Post time for the Ganay is set for 10:30 Eastern.