Siyouni holds strong hand in French Classic entries as Flat juices start to flow

Siyouni, sire of last season's Prix du Jockey Club winner St Mark's Basilica, has the largest representation of any living stallion in the entries for this year's French Classics, along with the Prix Saint-Alary and Grand Prix de Paris.

The Aga Khan Studs' homebred Group 1 winner is second only to Galileo in numbers of runners entered for France's six early season three-year-old Group 1 contests, details of which get the juices flowing for Flat fans.

Siyouni has already sired five individual Classic winners out of his six top-level victors so far. St Mark's Basilica emulated Sottsass when successful at Chantilly last June, while Laurens' six Group 1 triumphs included the Prix de Diane and Prix Saint-Alary. Siyouni is also the sire of Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winners Ervedya, for the Aga Khan, and Dream And Do, who won in 2020.

Added to these are the Group 3 winners and Classic-placed Volta and Le Brivido, enhancing the 14-year-old's list of achievements.

A total of 11 colts by Siyouni were entered in the Prix du Jockey Club and if one were to be successful it would mark the third time in four runnings that the son of Pivotal sired the winner of the Classic. Only Galileo, with whom Siyouni has gelled so brilliantly, has more entries in the Chantilly highlight with 13, and between them the pair account for 15 per cent of the 162 horses entered for the June 5 contest.

True Testament, who was second in the Group 3 Prix de Conde at Chantilly for Andre Fabre and his owner-breeder Lady Bamford on his most recent run, is the first foal of Listed winner To Eternity, a Galileo sister to 2,000 Guineas third Gan Amhras.

He could come up against Erevann, who made a winning debut at Deauville last October. The Aga Khan's homebred Dubawi colt is out of Siyouni's first-crop Classic winner Ervedya. Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, he won his only start at two and is entered in the Poule d'Essais des Poulains and Grand Prix de Paris as well.

Erevann is one of 109 entries for the Parisian Bastille Day highlight.

Amongst the nine fillies who could give Siyouni a third winner of the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is the Aga Khan's homebred Suwayra, who made an impressive winning debut for Dermot Weld at Leopardstown last summer and is the second foal out of the Group 3-placed Summaya, by Azamour, and related to Sinndar.

Atletico Madrid's World Cup-winning star Antoine Griezmann could add another famous sporting trophy to his cabinet and give Siyouni further Classic success. The striker's Txope, winner of the Listed Ursula Rosendhal-Preis and second to Mangoustine in the Prix Miesque, is entered in both the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and Prix de Diane.

Mise En Scene, who won the Group 3 Prestige Stakes for Qatar Racing and James Ferguson, holds entries in the Prix Saint-Alary, Diane and Pouliches. She is bred on the same Siyouni-Galileo cross that has produced Sottsass and St Mark's Basilica.

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