Irish Derby winner Hurricane Lane leads Grand Prix de Paris
Hurricane Lane, third in the Derby at Epsom and a last-out winner of the Irish Derby, is the favorite for the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris on Wednesday at Longchamp.
The 1 1/2-mile fixture for 3-year-old colts and fillies is expected to be run over good-to-soft going on Longchamp’s grand course and attracted 11 entrants.
Hurricane Lane easily is the most accomplished of them, winning four times in five starts for trainer Charlie Appleby and Godolphin, his lone defeat a commendable third-place finish in the Derby, where he lost both front shoes during the running. Hurricane Lane, by Frankel out of Gale Force, won the Group 2 Dante at York and has made his five starts at five different racecourses, handling the ship from England to Ireland without apparent issue. In the 1 1/2-mile Irish Derby he closed from well off the pace to win by a narrow margin over Lone Eagle, enjoying the gentle turns and extremely long homestretch at The Curragh. Longchamp is a different sort of course, and regular rider William Buick is tasked with guiding Hurricane Lane around yet another unfamiliar venue.
Owner Peter Brant, racing as White Birch Farm, has lightly raced Cheshire Academy, who came from far back to finish fifth last out going 1 5/16 miles in the Prix du Jockey Club. Finishing just ahead of him there was his Jean-Claude Rouget-trained stablemate, Saiydabad, a son of American stallion Blame who, like Cheshire Academy, tries a distance as long as 1 1/2 miles for the first time.
Alenquer, trained by William Haggas in England, was the second choice Tuesday with British bookmakers after an eye-catching win in the 1 1/2-mile King Edward Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Post time for the Grand Prix de Paris comes late for a European race, 2:20 p.m. Eastern. Catch all the French racing action at DRFBets.com.