The fierce challenge from across the Channel features Coronation Stakes favourite Zarigana, Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee market leader Lazzat plus Gold Cup contender Candelari. By Liz Price Last year, 23 French raiders ran at Royal Ascot. Many of them came with great ambitions, like Facteur Cheval who was hoping to give Charyn a run for the money in the Queen Anne Stakes, but who ended up running no race at all after losing a shoe and being isolated on the far side where he raced far too keenly.  Or Horizon Dore who seemed more than capable of beating Auguste Rodin in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, but who was beaten into third place, finishing nearly two lengths behind the Ballydoyle winner and the Jérôme Reynier-trained Zarakem.  Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2025 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 17th June to Saturday 21st June. In the end, despite a record number of runners, the French flag was hoisted only once thanks to Calandagan who produced a scintillating performance in the King Edward VII Stakes, which he won by six lengths.  The Francis-Henri Graffard-trained gelding won’t be back this year, but FACTEUR CHEVAL  will. He won’t return though to have another crack at the Queen Anne Stakes, but will line up at the start of the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday. “I think that a stiff mile on fast ground is a little too sharp for him now that he is a six-year-old,” explains his trainer, Jérôme Reynier.  “We saw it in the Dubai World Cup where he was outpaced. He finished well, but I think with age he can run over further, especially in good ground. The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at the end of the season in soft ground would be ok, but the Queen Anne Stakes in good ground is not really his sport anymore.” Following three starts in the Middle East this winter, including the Saudi Cup in Riyadh and the Dubai World Cup, where he finished sixth behind Soul Rush, Facteur Cheval has returned to his base in Marseille where he enjoyed a little break before being prepared for the Royal Ascot meeting. “He is in very good form. He looks really good, he is mentally in a good place, and we are very happy with him. We finished second in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes last year with Zarakem and Facteur is better than him, so I think he should be competitive. There is not a strong favourite now that Economics is out.” Facteur Cheval will be partnered for the first time by French-born but American-based jockey Flavien Prat, who has ridden on the straight course at Ascot but will discover the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes course for the first time.  In fact, Jérôme Reynier is giving instructions to two new jockeys this year, as his other starter LAZZAT  , who is the current favourite of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, has been bought by Wathnan Racing and will now be ridden by their retained jockey James Doyle. Last year’s Group 1 Prix de Maurice de Gheest winner, who travelled to Australia at the end of the season where he was an unlucky runner-up in the Golden Eagle, is an exciting addition to the Qatari operation.  Richard Brown, racing advisor for Wathnan Racing, says: “I think I first talked to Nurlan Bizakov’s team after his win in the Prix Djebel last year and we have stayed in touch ever since. Lazzat was extremely impressive on his second start this year. What he did in that Listed race at Chantilly was very, very impressive. He is obviously a very talented horse. I think he was unlucky in the Golden Eagle and then Sha Tin came quickly.  "However, I’m not convinced that a tight mile is the race for him. He has plenty of pace and we have always had it in our mind that he might be a 6f horse, stretching to seven.” Wathnan Racing will have three French-trained runners at Royal Ascot this year, as they can also count on the André Fabre-trained MAP OF STARS  who will run in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.  The four-year-old Sea The Stars son already carried the Wathan Racing silks in his final start last year when he won a 1m2f Listed event at Chantilly. This season, he has had three starts. He beat Horizon Dore by 2 ½ lengths in the Group 2 Prix d’Harcourt, before he found only Sosie too tough in the Group 1 Prix Ganay. “We bought him last year,” continues Richard Brown. “He is a horse we are very excited about. He is obviously well bred out of a Group 1 winning Dubawi mare and won his first two starts this year. He won the Exbury nicely and then I thought showed improved form when he won the Harcourt very well.  “In the Ganay, things didn’t go perfectly to plan, as he just had to wait a few strides to make his challenge. But were delighted with it and obviously even more delighted when Sosie came out to win the Ispahan so impressively. A stiff mile and a quarter should play to his strength. He has a very good turn of foot and I think he can go in any ground.”  In the past, French trainers rarely targeted the very competitive handicaps at Royal Ascot, but this year, thanks to Wathnan Racing’s purchase of the three-year-old BEST SECRET  , they will have a starter in the 1m2f Golden Gates Handicap on Saturday. Trained by Stéphane Wattel, who just missed out on a first Royal Ascot victory when City Light was beaten a short head by Merchant Navy in the 2018 Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2018, Best Secret recently ran away with a 1m2f handicap at ParisLongchamp. In a field of 16 runners, he came home three lengths clear.  Richard Brown says: “If Lazzat had been on our radar for a year, this horse only appeared on the 30th of April. We were very impressed with him when he won, and he just looked like he has the right credentials for a big handicap at Ascot. He has gone right-handed, has been in a big field and finished really strongly. Stephane brings his horses along gradually and I think there might be some leeway to improve off his handicap mark.”  Coming back to the Group 1 races at Royal Ascot, the six-furlong Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes have also attracted the entry of the Christopher Head-trained TOPGEAR  . The now six-year-old son of Wootton Bassett joined Head’s yard at the beginning of last year and started to really thrive when he was dropped back to seven furlongs.  He has already travelled to the UK where he won the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket on his final start last season and following a long break, he made a winning seasonal reappearance in the Group 3 Prix du Palais-Royal. “He is incredible,” says Christopher Head, who like every trainer would love to win a race at Royal Ascot. “Last time out, it was again a fabulous performance, as his sectionals dropped three times below 11, which is really a good sign for a sprint. So, he clearly fits the profile and as we know at Ascot, on this very demanding track, it is not a bad thing to have a little bit of stamina. It is the first time for me that I have a horse of that age who can compete at that level. It’s a lesson in humility. He can go in any ground, there isn’t much that disturbs him.”  Topgear runs in the colours of Japanese owner Hisaaki Saito who is coming to Royal Ascot double handed, as he is also bringing the filly START OF DAY  over for the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes.  The four-year-old filly only joined Christopher Head’s yard at the beginning of the season and he says: “She should be able to handle any ground. She made her seasonal reappearance in a Listed and seeing that Mr Saito is a very sporting person, he decided to give her an opportunity to run in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes. I think she will run well, as she is a filly who is going to improve throughout the season.” Several French fillies have entries at Royal Ascot this year and a lot of pressure will be on the Francis-Henri trained  Poule d’Essai des Pouliches winner ZARIGANA  who is running in the Coronation Stakes, rather than the Prix de Diane Longines.  There has always been a lot of talk about the granddaughter of the mighty Zarkava and she was expected to win the French 1000 Guineas easily. That, however, was not the case, and she only won the race in the stewards' room after the Charlie Fellowes-trained Shes Perfect, who had crossed the finish line first, was demoted to second place for causing interference. Shes Perfect is running on Sunday in the Prix de Diane, but for Zarigana the French Classic was never really on the cards. “The trainer was very keen to run Zarigana in Ascot,” confirmed Nemone Routh, Director and French racing manager for the Aga Khan operation. “We obviously did consider it, because I think she relaxed a lot more in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches last time. So, the Diane became more of an option for her but Francis feels he’s trained her to race more over a mile in this first part of the season.  “He always felt it was part of the programme that he had set aside for her and that she could stretch out later in the season. She worked last Thursday and is in good form. We prefer good ground for her, but she handles softer as well. She is quick out of the stalls and has a good turn of foot. She is becoming more experienced, and we are happy with her prep for Ascot.”  Francis-Henri Graffard will probably saddle four runners in the colours of the Aga Khan Studs, as connections are thinking of supplementing the filly RAYEVKA  in the Commonwealth Cup. By Blue Point out of Rayisa, she won the 6f Listed Prix Marchand d’Or on French Derby Day and this would be a quick turnaround. “We will have to make a decision if we are going to supplement her on Saturday,” confirms Routh. “I haven’t looked at the weather, but it’s supposed to be quite good next week. Unless we get a forecast of a lot of rain I would think she runs. It will be a bit of a cavalry charge, I imagine. It’s a tough race and she will have to be at the top of her game. And she needs to settle.  “Sometimes she can be a little bit keen early, although she settled well last time. If we can get her to settle, she has a good turn of foot and she is built like a proper sprinter. She is quite long and strong. She is a lot like her sire. As I said, it’s a tough race and she will be running against the colts, but it really is one of the last opportunities where she can run against her age category. While Rayevka needs to be supplemented, the four-year-old CANDELARI  was entered in the Gold Cup at the required entry date. Compared to his opponents he is lacking in experience, as he only made his racecourse debut last December, but there is no doubt that the major staying contests are his future.  “Candelari worked really well on Thursday morning under Mickaeël Barzalona, who was very happy with him. He’s not the most startling home worker, but he worked well on Thursday morning. We are very happy with him, and he is in great form. He is still improving, as he only started his career in December and he is still learning. But he is going the right way. Obviously, it’s going to be a tough race and we are stepping him up again in trip to the biggest staying race in the calendar.” The son of Frankel and Candara looks professional enough and was very impressive when he beat Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe fifth-placed Sevenna’s Knight by three and a half lengths in the Group 1 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier.  “So far, his best furlong has always been the last furlong and that was true in all of his races. If you look at the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier, with a furlong to go it looks like they are all going to finish slightly in a heap and then he really pulls away from them in the end. Candelari had already an entry in the Gold Cup, but he then confirmed us in our decision after that last run.  “It’s hard a race for a horse coming from France as they are not used to that style of running, but as long as the ground is good and fast, which he needs, then he keeps finding and finding. It’s a big step up for a fairly inexperienced horse, but he is in good form.” Another horse who is bred to stay is the three-year-old ASMARANI  who is lining up at the start of the 1m6f Group 2 Queen’s Vase. Always a very competitive race, it will be interesting to see how he fears after having run only three times in his career. In fact, he too only made his debut in March this year and after winning on his second start, was quickly stepped up to Group company in the Group 3 Prix Hocquart where he was the runner-up to Rafale Design.  “It is probably quite a big ask, but we think that the step-up in trip will suit him. He is a horse who has always shown us more in the afternoon than in the morning. Again, a bit like Candelari, he’s a horse that finishes his races very well. He can have a bit of a flat spot and then he tends to get going quite late. In France we don’t really have these kind of tough races because and it will be a new experience for him. I think we would be happy if we ran into a place. He goes on any ground.”  If France has very few runners in the handicaps, it has even less in the two-year-old races, but this year, Henri-François Devin, who has just enjoyed a very satisfying weekend at Epsom where New Ground came third in the Derby, is sending over the exciting AFJAN  . A son of Mehmas and Al Johrah, it hasn’t yet been decided which race he will target.  His trainer said: “He will either run in the Windsor Castle Stakes or the Norfolk Stakes. He won the other day on his debut at Chantilly over 5 ½ f. He can run in any ground, and he really took his last race really well. He has come back in good form.” France, more than any other country in Europe, is a melting pot of different nationalities when it comes to trainers. Many British trainers have chosen to train in France over the last few years, but there are also German, Italian and Spanish trainers, including Italian Mario Baratti, who is coming to Royal Ascot this year with the Gerard Augustin-Normand-owned MONTEILLE  .  The four-year-old filly is being aimed at the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes, which will be her second attempt at this level. She was well beaten in last year’s Prix Jean Prat but bringing her back to five furlongs has been a move that paid off when she won the Group 3 Prix du Gros-Chêne at Chantilly on French Derby day.  This is obviously a huge step up in class and she is only considered an outsider, but her trainer says: “She is in good form since her last start. She has recovered well. She’s in the Goffs London Sale before the meeting, so we shall see.” Spanish trainer Mauricio Delcher Sanchez enjoyed Royal Ascot success in 2008 when the three-year-old Equiano lifted the King Charles III Stakes (formerly known as the King’s Stand Stakes). This year, he is planning on saddling ESTEPONA  , another three-year-old colt in the same race. It is quite a step up in class for the Cuadra Mediterraneo-owned Estepona, who was the runner-up in the Group 3 Prix Sigy on his seasonal reappearance and then finished third in the 6f Listed Prix Marchand d’Or.  His trainer says: “He is a horse I have always liked, and I think five furlongs is a good trip for him. It comes maybe a bit early, but you have to try it. He gets an allowance as a three-year-old and there are many three-year-olds who have won it. I was happy with his last race. He finished third, but you have to look at the race and how it went.  “He is not easy and needs cover in a race, as otherwise he just does too much. When you look at the race, you’ll see that he didn’t have enough horses to take him through and so he found himself about ten lengths from the winner. He did too much in the first half and then didn’t really finish. But I think over five furlong we can just let him go.” German trainer Peter Schiergen is not based in France but in Cologne, Germany, but we caught up with him at Epsom on Derby Day where he told us that he is planning on running DHITJARI  in the Jersey Stakes on Saturday. The three-year-old colt was last seen finishing third behind the very impressive Matilda in the German 2000 Guineas at Cologne.  The trainer said: “Dhitjari was a good two-year-old. He won on his second start and was then Group 3 placed. He then won on his first start this season and finished third in the German Guineas. He has won over 7 ½ and then obviously was placed over the mile. He will now run over 7 furlongs, and I believe that will be his optimum trip.  "I don’t know if he can handle the straight, but he is not complicated, and I think it will be ok. Obviously, at Ascot, you always need a bit of luck as well. I think it is a good race for him, and he certainly deserves to go.”  Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2025 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 17th June to Saturday 21st June.