Homerique and With You in the Prix de Diane
3.05 Chantilly, Prix de Diane
This year’s Prix de Diane looks a really good renewal and wide open. The Anglo-Irish raiders, Laurens and Happily bring in some top quality classic form and both are group one winners in France and both are capable of taking this.
The favourite, Shahnaza has won two minor races in great style and could turn out to be very special. At a best priced 9/2 with Racebets she is tempting as she’ll probably be half that price on the PMU come race time.
Freddy Head has won this race four times as a jockey but he is looking for his first winner as a trainer, he saddles both Luminate and With You in this year’s race. Luminate was favourite for this race after beating Homerique in the Prix Penelope on her seasonal debut but was beaten next time out and stable jockey Aurélien Lemaitre has choosen her stablemate, With You in preference to Luminate.
With You lost her unbeaten record in the Prix Saint Alary when narrowly beaten by Laurens. With a run under her belt she should be able to reverse form with Laurens and will also like this decent ground; she can be backed at 8/1 with the UK bookies.
Homerique is really interesting contender; she will be having only her third career start having only seen the race course for the first time this April. She was an impressive 8 length winner first time out in maiden company but found Luminate too good in the Prix Penelope. Homerique looked like been an easy winner in that race when sweeping past the field and taking up the running a furlong out where her jockey Aurélien Lemaitre tried to coax her home unhurried, but whether it was greenness or she just decided to pull herself up after hitting the front, Luminate rallied to catch her on the line. Both her two races have been on soft and heavy so you can’t be sure how she’ll handle this quicker ground, though on breeding she could find it in her favour with her American pedigree which does possess more speed. At 14/1 she really appeals as she is open to a massive amount of improvement; if she had won the Prix Penelope as she looked likely to do then she would likely be one of the favourites for this race.
At a big price, Lady Athena appeals as an each way shot that can be backed at 40/1, she could run in to a place.
Recommended bets
Homerique 14/1
With You, 8/1
3.45 Chantilly, Prix Hocquart
Hush Writer is dropped in at the deep end by trainer Francis-Henri Graffard after winning a maiden for 3-year-olds, but he could be under-estimated here by the market at 16/1. He finished second to Bugle Major in what looked a hot maiden for unraced colts and geldings. Neither the winner or Hush Writer were pushed hard in that race and Bugle Major followed up next time out despite giving away half a dozen lengths at the start as he came from last to win with little fuss. He’s up against some decent opposition, proven up to group 3 level but I’ve got to chance him at the price he is as an unexposed horse in this field that doesn’t look out of the ordinary.
Recommended bets
Hush Writer, 16/1