Garlingari and Air Pilot Have Fitness Edge in Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp
  Above: Stephane Pasquier and Garlingari team up in the Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp
International Race Fan

Garlingari and Air Pilot Have Fitness Edge in Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp

3.20 Longchamp, Prix d’Harcourt

Some high profile horses make their seasonal debut for Andre Fabre in Waldgeist at 5/2 and the lightly raced Finche at 4/1, but they both look vulnerable over a distance short of their best. The Fabre stable has been struggling for winners of late, despite sending out many fancied runners and with bigger targets further down the road for his two stable stars, they can be swerved today at the prices they are.

Air Pilot was very impressive in the Prix Exbury just 3 weeks ago when making his seasonal debut in desperate ground. He was favoured by the weights that day and won by 4 lengths, easing down. He is 3lb worse off today, but he could well finish on top again. He is a best priced 9/2 with the UK bookies but he could end up much bigger on the PMU up against Fabre’s horses.

Garlingari was sent off the 11/10 favourite for the Prix Exbury, where he tried to make all, but began to struggle a long way from home to be beaten nearly 20 lengths. It’s possible he went off way too quick on the really bad ground as all those racing up with the pace were well beaten. He is a previous winner of this race and really likes give in the ground, with today’s heavy ground at 5.0 on the petrometer no problem. At 10/1 he is worth giving another chance to show that he’s much better than what he showed last time.

Recommended bet
Garlingari, 10/1
Air Pilot (saver), 9/2 but may be bigger on the PMU

3.55 Longchamp, Prix Vanteaux

There are some really interesting 3-year-old fillies from big stables lining up in this race that will have aspirations of bigger races than this, so it could pay to look a little lower down for the winner of today’s race.

Maroubra and Barkaa both come in to this race with fitness on their side. Maroubra won an Angers maiden impressively last November on very soft ground and made a promising return to action this season to be beaten just a short head; she is a best priced 16/1. Barkaa has won 3 of her 4 races, all on polytracks, including a listed event last time out at Cagnes-Sur-Mer; she is 12/1 for this race today. Neither Maroubra or Barkaa look like superstars but they could be a lot further forward than some the others in this race and one could surprise at a decent price.

Recommended bet
Maroubra, 16/1
Barkaa, 12/1