Vision d'Etat returned to winning ways with a comfortable victory in the $394,000 Prix Ganay at Longchamp on Sunday. Last year's French Derby winner, he scored by three-quarters of a length over Loup Breton, covering the 1 5/16 miles under Ioritz Mendizabal in 2:09.43 on good ground as the 7-5 favorite.

There were a pair of classy winners at Sandown Park on Saturday as Paco Boy landed the Group 2 Sandown Mile, while Tartan Bearer was a narrow winner of the Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes.

Paco Boy erased any doubts about his ability to stay a mile with his three-quarter-length victory in the $147,000 Sandown Mile, holding off both Dream Eater and third-place Virtual through the long uphill stretch to record his first victory at the distance following four group race successes at seven furlongs.

Vision d'Etat should be ready to show his true colors at Longchamp on Sunday in the first European Group 1 race of the year, the $262,000 Prix Ganay.

Last year's French Derby winner, Vision d'Etat was not fully wound up three weeks ago when he finished third in the Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt, but is expected to make amends at his best distance of 1 5/16 miles.

Vision d'Etat will again face his Harcourt betters Trincot and The Bogberry, but this time at equal weights. In the Harcourt he had spotted Trincot three pounds and The Bogberry seven.

Following an uncharacteristically poor sixth-place finish in the Dubai Duty Free, Archipenko will seek redemption at Sha Tin on Sunday when he defends his title in the $1.8 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup, a race that will go without Artiste Royal, whose connections ultimately declined an invitation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club to run in the 1 1/4-mile Group 1 contest.

Trainer Mike de Kock had no explanation for Archipenko s dull effort at Nad Al Sheba, where he had previously taken the Group 3 Zabeel Mile. Kevin Shea has the ride aboard the Kingmambo

Tartan Bearer returns to action after a 10-month absence at Sandown Park on Saturday in the Group 3, $94,000 Gordon Richards Stakes.

Second by a half-length to the European Horse of the Year, New Approach, in the Epsom Derby and full brother to the 2000 Guineas and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, Golan, Tartan Bearer has not been seen on a racecourse since finishing a most unlucky fourth in the Irish Derby, in which he was moved up to third via disqualification.

Friday's Group 3, $95,000 Sandown Classic Trial is the first major stepping-stone on the road to the Epsom Derby. The 1 1/4-mile test up the long, half-mile Sandown Park stretch has drawn six Derby possibles, three of whom have the potential to make an impact this season.

Overdose is on his way to England after outclassing seven rivals in the five-furlong $31,500 Hungaria Nagydij, or Hungarian Grand Prix, at Kincsem Park in Budapest on Sunday. The sensational sprinter improved his record to 12 victories without a loss by thrashing Spinning Crystal by eight lengths, with National Nice another five lengths back in third. The winning time on the firm turf course was 54.60 seconds.

Unrivaled stamped himself as Japan's leading 3-year-old colt at Nakayama on Sunday with a scintillating victory in the $2.3 million Satsuki Sho, or Japanese 2000 Guineas.

A son of the Sunday Silence stallion Neo Universe, Unrivaled closed with a rush off a fast early pace to defeat longshot Triumph March by 1 1/2 lengths, with last year's Japanese juvenile champ, Seiun Wonder, third, another half-length behind. The previously undefeated 7-10 favorite Logi Universe - also by Neo Universe - showed nothing in finishing 14th, beaten 12 1/2 lengths.

Vocalised scored as the 2-1 favorite in the Group 3, $97,000 Greenham Stakes on Saturday in a race that was marred by four late scratches, three of them group race winners, due to the soft ground at Newbury.

Trained in Ireland by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning, Vocalised prevailed by a length over the fast closing Cityscape, but Godolphin Racing's cold English spring continued as Shaweel could manage only fifth of eight, beaten three lengths in his first start since finishing fourth in the Dewhurst Stakes on Oct. 18.

The $2.3 million Satsuki Sho, or Japanese 2000 Guineas, at Nakayama on Sunday should be a contentious affair, with two sons of Neo Universe, the 2003 winner of this 1 1/4-mile classic, laying claim to the best chances of victory.