Martaline heads Deauville

Gary Stevens' season in France isn't quite over yet. After having announced on Tuesday that he was ending his relationship with trainer Andre Fabre to return to the United States, he accepted rides from Fabre this weekend at Deauville, among them Martaline in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville on Sunday.

A 5-year-old son of Linamix, Martaline is the likely favorite in the field of seven going 1 9/16 miles. A course-and-distance winner of the listed Prix de Reux under Stevens on Aug. 3, Martaline was a Group 2 winner last summer, and he should take the measure of Kindjhal, the Prix de Reux runner-up; Bailador, winner of the Group 3 Grand Prix de Vichy winner; and Fair Mix, runner-up in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantill.

Stevens has picked up a live mount, The Kiddykid, from British trainer Peter Evans in the six-furlong Group 3 Prix de Meautry. The Kiddykid was just a length second to One Cool Cat last time in the Group 3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes. A repeat of that effort would make him hard to beat.