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  • 4-y-o (26Jan09 b c)
  • With Approval (CAN)  (9.8f) — Alborada (Alzao (USA)  (10.3f))
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    A Fabre
    • Unknown until 19 Apr 2012
    • A Fabre until 08 Dec 2011
  • Owner Miss K Rausing
  • Breeder Miss K Rausing
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Impmonarch

Imperial Monarch: will bid to give Aidan O'Brien first win in French Derby

  PICTURE: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)  

Monarch aims to land Derby double for O'Brien

 By Scott Burton 5:33PM 2 JUN 2012 

Preview: France, Sunday (3.15pm BST)

Chantilly: Prix Du Jockey Club (Group 1) 1m2½f, 3yo, colts and fillies

With Aidan O'Brien and son Joseph currently carrying just about all before them, the master of Ballydoyle bids to put one of the few missing pieces of silverware on his already bulging mantelpiece.

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Imperial Monarch is the aptly named colt charged with winning a first Prix Du Jockey Club for O'Brien, whose best effort came when Westphalia was third to Le Havre in 2009.

If successful, O'Brien would match the feat of Roger Charlton and Maurice Zilber in saddling the winners of the Epsom and Chantilly Classics in the same season.

Connections of leading domestic hope French Fifteen (Nicolas Clement/Christophe Peslier) would have been pleased by Camelot's dominant display at Epsom, having got to within a neck of the Derby winner in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas last month.

"He's had a great preparation and we're very pleased with his homework," said Clement on Friday.

While Camelot took the extra half mile in his stride, French Fifteen is by no means guaranteed to get the 1m2½f of the Jockey Club on breeding.

"The big question mark is the stamina but we're hopeful he can do it," continued Clement.

Vying for favouritism among the home defence will be Kesampour (Mikel Delzangles/Christophe Lemaire), who along with outsider Lunayir bids to become the Aga Khan's seventh French Derby winner.

The son of King's Best is a perfect four from four but must race right-handed for the first time.

Nevertheless, his uncomplicated style and a good draw in stall five will give him a leading chance.

John Gosden

John Gosden: trains Gregorian

  PICTURE: Mark Cranham  

British hopes rest with a three-pronged party consisting of one-time Guineas fancy Most Improved (Brian Meehan/Kieren Fallon), Dante Stakes runner-up Ektihaam (Roger Varian/Paul Hanagan) and Gregorian (John Gosden/William Buick), who posted a personal best when an unlucky fifth in the French Guineas three weeks ago.

"He ran well from a bad draw in the Poule D'Essai des Poulains," said Gosden. "Any rain would be a help."

In a field of 20, cases can be made for a host of runners but Andre Fabre looks to have two of the more interesting contenders.

Saint Baudolino (Maxime Guyon) may have been fortunate to keep the Prix de Guiche after several cases of contact but, if anything, his rough passage denied the son of Pivotal a more clear-cut success in Chantilly's only Group-class trial.

Albion (Frankie Dettori) only has a neck to find with Kesampour on their running in the Prix Greffulhe.

Dettori will have to sit and suffer from stall 17 but Kirsten Rausing's homebred daughter of dual Champion Stakes heroine Alborada has been ridden from off the pace in the past and if the gaps appear at the right time, he can still be a factor.

 
  • ARCHIVE

    • FRANCE: Monarch aims to land Derby double for O'Briens 5:33pm 2 Jun 2012
    • FRANCE: Kesampour stays on track in messy Greffulhe 5:13pm 5 May 2012
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  DATE RACE CONDITIONS WGT RACE OUTCOME JOCKEY OR TS RPR
No Video 15May13   Sai 11Gd 11K 8-11 1/13 (2L Arnuero 8-10) 19/10F Maxime Guyon — * *
No Video 31Mar13   Sai 12VSft L 21K 9-1 5/6 (4¼L Slow Pace 8-11) 33/10 Maxime Guyon — * *
No Video 21Oct12   Lon 12Hy G2 61K 8-9 7/8 (42L Saga Dream 9-2) 7/1 Stephane Pasquier — * *
No Video 22Sep12   Lon 10GS 3yG3 33K 9-2 3/8 (3¼L Starboard 9-2) 5/1 Maxime Guyon — * *
No Video 14Jul12   Lon 12Sft 3yG1 285K 9-2 7/9 (6¾L Imperial Monarch 9-2) 33/1 Pierre-Charles Boudot — * *
No Video 03Jun12   Cha 11GS 3yG1 714K 9-2 12/20 (6½L Saonois 9-2) 16/1 Frankie Dettori — * *
No Video 05May12   Sai 10VSft 3yG2 61K 9-2 2/6 (hd Kesampour 9-2) 9/1 Pierre-Charles Boudot — * *
No Video 19Apr12   Lon 10Sft 3y 14K 8-10 1/7 (nk Lunayir 8-10) 31/5 Maxime Guyon — * *
No Video 10Nov11   Msn 8Hy 2y 14K 8-10 2/6 (2½L Hippolyte 9-0) 7/2 Maxime Guyon — * *
No Video 19Oct11   Dea 7Hy 2y 14K 8-10 3/7 (2¼L Impendor 9-0) 4/5F Maxime Guyon — * *
No Video 23Sep11   Msn 7Gd 2y 10K 9-2 4/14 (3¼L Hippolyte 9-2) 73/10 Maxime Guyon — * *

* Topspeed and Racing Post Ratings are part of racingpost.com Members' Club.  

Details of horses trained outside GB and Ireland or born prior to 1986 may be incomplete. OR Rating is the latest published.