Longchamp's Guineas Sunday offers not one but two highly competitive classic miles as Fantasia seeks to confirm her high promise in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches for fillies, while Naaqoos faces a stern challenge from a trio of recent winners in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains for colts.

Aidan O'Brien pulled off the old one-two in the Group 3, $106,000 Chester Vase at Chester Racecourse south of Liverpool on Thursday, as his 25-1 Golden Sword held off his 8-1 favorite Masterofthehorse by two lengths.

Seemingly sacrificed as a rabbit for his strongly backed stablemate, Golden Sword led throughout under Colm O'Donoghue, getting the 1 1/2 miles on good to firm ground in 2:33.86, or .34 of a second faster that the track record set by Old Vic in 1989. Debussy, the second choice at 5-2, was third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Masterofthehorse.

The search for classic clues continues at Chester Racecourse on Friday with the $105,000, Group 3 Dee Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile, 75-yard trial for the Epsom Derby in which Free Agent is capable of overcoming an 11-month injury induced layoff.

Trained by Richard Hannon for Queen Elizabeth, Free Agent was 2 for 2 last June, defeating subsequent Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Donativum by five lengths in a Leicester maiden before taking the listed seven-furlong Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot. By Dr Fong out of an Unfuwain mare, he should be able to handle the step up in distance.

Undefeated Hungarian sprint sensation Overdose heads the nominations for the five-furlong, Group 2 Temple Stakes at Haydock Park in England on May 23. An undefeated son of Starborough, Overdose was the easy eight-length winner of his 4-year-old seasonal debut at Kincsem Park in Budapest on April 19. He is, however, suffering from sore feet after having his shoes removed on Saturday night.

Debussy will attempt to confirm his classic credentials at Chester on Thursday in the Group 3, $104,000 Chester Vase, a 1 1/4-mile, 66-yard prep for the Epsom Derby around the tightest left-handed course in England.

A busy week of European classic preps got under way at Longchamp on Monday as Wajir took the Group 2, $173,000 Prix Hocquart, a 1 1/4-mile trial for the French Derby. An Elie Lellouche-trained son of Danehill Dancer, Wajir prevailed by a half-length over Telluride. Grandcamp, who had beaten Wajir into third in the Group 2 Prix Noailles on April 5, finished last of five after having led to the three-sixteenths pole. The time for the 1 3/8 miles on good ground was 2:17.60.

Meiner Kitz added to an upset-filled weekend in the racing world on Sunday when he sprung a 45-1 surprise in the $2.6 million Spring Tenno Sho at Kyoto. A ground-saving ride from Masami Matsuoka propelled Meiner Kitz, a 6-year-old son of Chief Bearhart trained by Sakae Kuneida, to a neck victory over Al Nasrain.

Meiner Kitz covered the two miles on firm ground in 3:14.40. Dream Journey was third, beaten two lengths, while the 5-2 favorite Asakusa Kings faded to finish ninth, 5 3/4 lengths behind the winner.

Ghanaati handed Rainbow View the first loss of her career at Newmarket on Sunday when the 20-1 shot landed the classic $577,000 1000 Guineas Stakes. Banged down to 8-11 favoritism, Rainbow View failed to show the sparkle that had earned her the European juvenile filly championship in coming home fifth, 2 3/4 lengths behind the winner.

Sea the Stars outgamed Delegator in the $577,000 2000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday to establish himself as the leading 3-year-old in Europe while taking on the favorite's mantle for the Epsom Derby.

At $2.6 million, the richest race in the world this Kentucky Derby weekend is Sunday's Grade 1 Spring Tenno Sho at Kyoto, a competitive if not outstanding renewal of the two-mile contest also known as the Emperor's Cup.

On paper, Asakusa Kings need only repeat his March 22 victory in the 1 7/8-mile, Grade 2 Hanshin Daishoten to land this valuable prize. The 5-year-old Asakusa Kings has also won the 1 3/8-mile, Grade 2 Kyoto Kinen this year, but in November he was only eighth in the Japan Cup behind Screen Hero.