France: Field looks tough to separate in Prix Texanita

The English bookmakers, at least, aren’t seeing much separating most of the 13 3-year-olds entered in the Group 3 Prix Texanita, featured race Wednesday on a 10-race program at Chantilly.

Tuesday afternoon, 10 of the intended participants were priced between 4-1 and 12-1 in this six-furlong sprint. Wanaway was listed as the mildest of favorites at 4-1, but a look through the form of the race suggests she holds no apparent edge, save a potential fitness advantage.

Wanaway is one of a four horses in the Texanita who, before coronavirus halted French racing late this winter, raced March 13 at Chantilly in the listed Prix Ronde de Nuit. Wanaway won the Ronde de Nuit, a 5 1/2-furlong contest run over heavy ground, but got a favorable forward trip and scored a workmanlike victory. The Ronde de Nuit runner-up, Abama, beaten a length, also is among the entrants Wednesday. The Chantilly course was listed as soft as of Tuesday, but while Wanaway – and Abama, for that matter – can contend, Alocasia is the top pick in the Texanita.

Alocasia, like Wanaway, is a filly racing males, and the Texanita females carry 121 pounds, four fewer than the colts and geldings. Alocasia had an active and productive 2-year-old campaign, going 2-2-0 from six starts while improving throughout the season. She won a six-furlong Saint-Cloud maiden race June 30, a promising-looking run, and came back a month later with a fine performance in the Group 3 Six Perfections, finishing second of eight, beaten only by Tropbeau, a multiple group stakes winner in 2019 and the winner Monday of the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte at Longchamp.

The Six Perfections was contested at seven furlongs, and one can see Alocasia lose her edge the final 100 yards – a filly who prefers a shorter distance. Cut back to 6 1/2 furlongs Sept. 25, she won a listed stakes at Maison-Laffitte and was given the wrong trip there in the Group 2 Gran Criterium des Maison-Laffitte, a race won by the very useful Shadan. Alocasia gives every indication she prefers racing with cover and making one run, and in the Gran Criterium she pressed the pace and led, and though she gave in late, Alocasia was beaten only 2 1/2 lengths.

Wooded, also accorded respect in the betting markets, finished no worse than third in four starts at age 2, but all his races came over seven furlongs and he gave no indication he has the fast-twitch acceleration that would truly suit this cut back to six furlongs.

The stakes horses, however, might not be the best 3-year-olds racing Wednesday at Chantilly; the second race on the program, a conditions race over one mile for 3-year-old fillies, drew a pair of entrants who could have designs on the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches later this month, Simeen and Bionic Woman.

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Simeen, an Aga Khan homebred by Lope de Vega and trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, raced just once at age 2, winning a seven-furlong maiden race June 12 at Saint-Cloud by 3 1/2 lengths. She coped comfortably with soft ground that day and was never asked for much run by Christophe Soumillon while galloping home in the middle of the course.

Bionic Woman, another Lope de Vega filly, starts for Godolphin and trainer Andre Fabre, and she, too, won a seven-furlong maiden race at Saint-Cloud last summer. Bionic Woman’s lone victory from three starts came in September and earned her a start in the Group 1 Prix Marcel-Boussac, where she finished a respectable fourth behind the excellent Albigna while racing over a very soft course she didn’t seem to love.

Making her debut Wednesday in a five-furlong race for unstarted 2-year-old colts and geldings is Ornamental Glitter, who is owned by Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm. Ornamental Glitter is by No Nay Never and out of El Diamante and figures to attract plenty of betting support as he starts for Rouget.

First post for the program, the lone race card in Europe on Wednesday, is 5 a.m. Eastern. The conditions race is set for 5:30, the Prix Texanita for 8:12.
Live-streaming video and wagering is available at DRFBets.com.