Olmedo faces stamina test in French Derby

Olmedo is the mild favorite to win the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club, or French Derby, on Sunday at Chantilly, but there are 16 others in the race, several of whom appear to have decent claims.

Olmedo merits respect, having been first or second in all five of his starts. Group 1-placed at 2, he was nipped by Wootton in the Prix de Fontainebleau in his 3-year-old debut but avenged that defeat in winning the French 2000 Guineas, where Wootton went unplaced, in his most recent start.

Olmedo is trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, and that is potentially meaningful. Rouget won his first Prix du Jockey Club in 2009 with Le Havre and has trained the last two winners of the race, with Brametot winning last year and the excellent Almanzor coming out on top in 2016. Almanzor had the same owners as Olmedo, Antonio Caro and Gerard Augustin-Normand.

Olmedo, who will have Cristian Demuro in the saddle, has yet to race beyond one mile. He’s by Declaration of War and out of the Pivotal mare Super Pie and is not totally certain to stay about 1 5/16 miles Sunday on a course rated “good to soft” as of Friday.

Study of Man is a very interesting alternative and has been bet into second favoritism by ante-post punters. Trained by Pascal Bary for the Niarchos clan, Study of Man, by the Japanese stallion Deep Impact (also the sire of Epsom Derby favorite Saxon Warrior) won at a mile over heavy going in his only start at 2, and after shaking off cobwebs with a second-place finish to start his 3-year-old campaign, he was an eye-catching winner of the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe on May 8 at Saint-Cloud, a race over the French Derby distance.

Key Victory, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, is a son of Teofilo and the Dubawi mare Patroness and definitely will stay. The question here is of quality since Key Victory’s 2-for-2 start to his career includes only a maiden win and a listed stakes score at Newmarket.

Aidan O’Brien’s top hope is Rostropovich, who traveled to Lonchamp for his seasonal debut and was well beaten by Wootton and Olmedo in the Fontainebleau. Rostropovich rebounded to easily win the listed Dee Stakes at Chester over the French Derby distance.

Hay Gaman got within a neck of Olmedo in the French 2000 Guineas but seems less likely to at least repeat that performance at Sunday’s longer distance.

The Jockey Club is supported by three Group 2 races and a Group 3 on Sunday’s card. Post time for the main event is 10:15 a.m. Eastern.