X Facteur: the Sussex Stakes dark horse who could have French and American connections celebrating

Jerome Reynier is looking forward to the challenge of pitting Facteur Cheval against some of Europe's leading milers in the £1 million Qatar Sussex Stakes a week on Wednesday. 

The four-year-old announced himself on the Group 1 stage when going down by just a head to Anmaat in a blanket finish to the Prix d'Ispahan at the end of May on his first try in racing's highest echelon. And despite the anticipated presence of the highest-rated three-year-old in Europe, Paddington, as well as last season's Prix Jacques le Marois heroine Inspiral, Reynier believes the Sussex is the ideal race to launch the second half of Facteur Cheval's campaign.

"He heads there after two months off as a fresh horse and in good shape. He'll be stabled up at Deauville before heading across to Goodwood," said Reynier, whose base near Marseille in the south of France means a ten-hour drive to reach the Channel ports.