French Derby light on star power

Ace Impact, a brilliant winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October, only showed depth of his ability winning the Prix du Jockey Club at odds of nearly 9-1 in early June. Whoever comes out on top of this year’s renewal of France’s derby on Sunday at Chantilly is, like Ace Impact, a horse who has who has not yet revealed his potential.

The Prix du Jockey Club, contested over 1 5/16 miles on a course that was rated very soft Friday, drew 15 entrants, none of whom come close to standing out. Thirteen are based in France, while Ghostwriter comes from England and Diego Velazquez from Ireland. Both shippers could be players, Ghostwriter in particular.

Trained by Clive Cox, Ghostwriter won all three of his starts at age 2, ending his campaign with a solid score in the Group 2 Royal Lodge, a one-mile race that often attracts horses meant to race at longer distances as they mature. Ghostwriter returned from his winter break in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and ran creditably. The colt appeared to lose some momentum going down into the dip that precedes an uphill finish on the Newmarket straight-mile course, but found himself again in the final uphill stages to finish fourth, which bodes well for his try at a longer trip Sunday.

Diego Velazquez was supposed to play second fiddle to his Aidan O’Brien-trained stablemate Henry Longfellow in the French 2000 Guineas but finished fourth, several places better than the tough-trip Henry Longfellow. Diego Velazquez raced somewhat wide from a stalking position, beaten a length while finishing like a horse who could handle added ground.

Both horses lack the upside of some French colts. Alcantor is not one of them, though he outran his odds finishing one place ahead of Diego Velazquez in the French Guineas. Alcantor was an early developer, debuting in June of his 2-year-old season, and has far less room to improve than horses like Fast Tracker and Look de Vega.

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Fast Tracker began his career over the winter at provincial tracks but has proven to be a serious prospect. He won a 1 1/4-mile conditions race March 7 over heavy ground at Saint Cloud by seven lengths. Back from a break of about two months, Fast Tracker won the Prix de Suresnes by seven lengths over Dollar Index, another derby entrant. The Suresnes is the race that springboarded Ace Impact to his derby win, and Fast Tracker, with James Doyle riding, drew clear with a strong final three furlongs over very soft ground under a hands-and-heels ride.

Look de Vega takes a tall step up in class but could be capable of handling it. Look de Vega’s lone race at 2 came far from bright lights at Fontainebleau, where he won a 1 1/8-mile contest by seven lengths, mostly under hand urging. His second start came in a 1 1/4-mile conditions race at Longchamp on May 5, where he drew clear through the final furlong for a smart 3 1/2-length victory over considerably stronger competition than he faced in his debut.

Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget has won this race five times in the last eight years but with Grecian Storm and Wahdan does not appear to hold a strong hand Sunday.

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