Spinning Memories at best distance in Prix du Palais-Royal

Spinning Memories’s fondness for seven-furlong races takes him to Clairefontaine Racecourse for the first time in his career.

The trip couldn’t have been anticipated as recently as early March, before the coronavirus pandemic started shuttering racecourses the world over. Spinning Memories travels to Clairefontaine, which sits a stone’s throw east of Deauville Racecourse near the English Channel, for the Group 3 Prix du Palais-Royal.

The race normally is contested at Longchamp, which began racing in early May following the initial coronavirus shutdown before being forced into a second hiatus because of a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Spinning Memories, who was heavily favored in antepost wagering Wednesday, is 6-4-0-1 in races over seven furlongs and just 4-1-0-0 at other distances. The only seven-furlong start in which he finished worse than third came one year ago, when he was fourth in the Prix du Palais-Royal.

That renewal of the race, with Hey Gaman victorious and Polydream third, looks considerably stronger than Thursday’s edition, and 5-year-old Spinning Memories already has gotten in a run this month, winning the listed Prix Maurice Zilber over seven furlongs on May 11 at Longchamp. That race was contested on very soft ground, but Spinning Memories, trained by Pascal Bary, has Group 3-winning form sprinting on good going as well. The Clairefontaine course was listed as good Wednesday.

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The other main contenders among seven entrants are 3-year-old Devil – who gets a nine-pound weight break from his older male rivals – Azano, and Stunning Spirit.

The Prix due Palais-Royal is the fifth of nine races, first post 5:10 a.m. Eastern, Thursday at Clairefontaine. There’s also a 10-race mixed flat- and jump-racing card at Lyon-Parilly, which starts at 9:50 a.m. Eastern. Both cards are available for live-streaming and wagering at DRFBets.com.