France: Precise gets away from Blue Bolt in Prix Jacques Le Marois
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The 3-year-old filly Precise in her last two starts has not been able to handle the 4-year-old filly Blue Bolt, but Blue Bolt won’t line up against her Sunday at Deauville in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, among Europe’s premier one-mile races open to older horses.
British bookmakers on Friday had Precise the narrowest of favorites over eight foes in the straight-course Marois, which drew an eclectic cast lacking standouts: Five horses are priced at 6-1 or lower.
Precise made hay in age- and sex-restricted miles earlier this year, landing the Irish 1000 Guineas, then the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. She went to post an odds-on favorite tackling older fillies last month in the Falmouth over a straight mile at Newmarket, but Blue Bolt spanked her by two lengths. Precise came closer last out in the Prix Rothschild, another straight-course Deauville mile, but could not match Blue Bolt’s finish, coming up a half-length short.
Blue Bolt, 4 for 4 this year and 7 for 10 lifetime, would be favored to win the Marois, but Precise still might need a career best under Ryan Moore to defeat a capable cast.
More Thunder rates a strong chance if one forgives his most recent start, a dull fourth as the even-money favorite July 11 in the Group 2 Summer Mile around one turn at Ascot. More Thunder, who lacks speed and needs pace help ahead of him, is a 5-year-old, but has raced at the peak of his powers only for about one year now after being brought slowly along by trainer William Haggas. His second-place finishes in the Lockinge and Queen Anne stamp him as a main contender, and More Thunder caught softer ground than he prefers when traveling to France last fall for the Prix de la Foret.
Zeus Olympios won the Summer Mile with a perfect trip and, baseline to baseline, sits a rung below More Thunder, while Rayif, like More Thunder, needs a mulligan for his most recent start. Rayif pulled a perfect trip of his own winning the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, France’s 2000 Guineas, but did win with some authority, one length better than his nearest rival, albeit in a race of questionable quality. Solidly favored last month in the Prix Jean Prat, another Deauville mile, Rayif went flat through the final furlong, checking in fourth behind Thesecretadversary, who has to be taken seriously Sunday.
Thesecretadversary delivered modest runs in the English and Irish 2000 Guineas but came sharply forward in his last two, winning the Group 3 Jersey before his half-length victory in the Prix Jean Prat.
Sixpence and Strauss both shipped from Japan, and in his most recent start Sixpence captured the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen. That form in theory should make him a Marois contender, but Sixpence ran a career best posting a 26-1 upset, and sat an ideal pressing trip in second before notching a narrow victory in a race dominated by front-runners.
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