So close to pulling off a shock comeback win in the Prix Jacques le Marois,
Olympic Glory returns to France Sunday to try his hand in the Group 1 Prix du
Moulin de Longchamp. Beaten just a short head by Moonlight Cloud in that
Deauville highlight Aug. 11, last year’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner showed
his true colors there off a lengthy break having flopped in the Poule d’Essai
des Poulains over a mile May 12.
Richard Hannon also saddles Prix Jean Prat winner Havana Gold, who reverts to
a mile having failed to see out the 10-furlong trip of the Prix Guillaume
d’Ornano at Deauville last time.
“Olympic Glory is a worthy favorite for the Moulin,” their trainer said. “We
were not surprised how well he ran in the Prix Jacques le Marois, because he had
worked brilliantly in his final gallop and in another stride he might have
caught Moonlight Cloud in what looked a hot renewal. From July onwards last
year, Olympic Glory started to blossom and it has been the same again this time
around.
“He definitely looks the type of horse who comes into his own in the second
half of the season, and we are lucky to have him and Toronado for the major mile
races. He went so close at Deauville, so let’s hope we can get the job done
here. However, don’t forget we also have Havana Gold, who would be a stable star
for us in an ordinary year. He loves traveling and is as tough as teak, and he
is more than capable of getting in the money.”
Both the Poulains and Pouliches (French Two Thousand and One Thousand
Guineas) winners are in opposition, with the colts’ classic hero Style Vendome
and fillies’ equivalent scorer Flotilla returning from breaks having finished
off the board in the Prix Jean Prat and Prix de Diane, respectively.
Reverting to a mile is Maxios, who loves this venue as he proved when
annexing the Prix d’Ispahan over an extended nine furlongs May 26 prior to his
latest sixth in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. The Niarchos
family’s Racing Manager Alan Cooper told PA Sport, “He has had a break since
Ascot and he’s in good form. We’re dropping back to a mile, but hopefully he’ll
put in a good performance.
“He has a lot of different options; we’ve been invited to the Cox Plate, and
there’s the Champion Stakes at Ascot. We’ll wait and see what happens this
weekend first.”
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