Tom Collins hopes to see a new French Derby favourite after the Prix la Force

10.40 LongchampPrix la Force (Group 3) | 1m1f | 3yo colts & geldings | SSR

As far as stepping stones go, the Prix la Force is a pretty informative one when looking for future Prix du Jockey Club winners.

Saonois (2012) was the last horse to win this and the French Derby, but Study Of Man (2018) and Sottsass (2019) both met with defeat here before winning the Classic.

This year's edition looks red-hot with a bunch of well-bred middle-distance prospects set to contest the prize, and therefore it would be disappointing if one of the sextet did not propel themselves to the top of the Jockey Club ante-post betting after current market leader Victor Ludorum disappointed at this track on Monday.

The runner most likely to do that according to the betting is Ocean Atlantique, who bumped into a subsequent conditions race winner on his debut before taking a heavy ground Saint-Cloud maiden in October.

He won by eight lengths on that occasion and was extremely eyecatching in the way that he drew clear of his rivals, but the form looks nothing out of the ordinary and he is priced up on the fact he represents Andre Fabre and Coolmore as well as his ability to handle the conditions, rather than what he has produced on the track.

Freddy Head's Another Sky boasts a similar profile but was arguably more dominant when he dictated the pace on his debut at Chantilly before moving away for a ridiculously impressive victory.

His giant stride was on show for the world to see and he looks to have plenty of ability. Furthermore, Another Sky is bred for the Jockey Club (by 2009 winner Le Havre), but the testing ground has to be a worry given his sire's worst performance came on heavy in the 2008 Criterium.

Playing potential against proven ability is a risky move in this kind of contest and with that in mind, the most likely winner of the race has to be Mkfancy.

Pia Brandt's Makfi colt proved himself at the top table as a juvenile with a Group 1 success in the Criterium on heavy ground in October, a month after obliterating a 14-strong field at that track in maiden company.

The prominent-racing Mkfancy bumped into a smart unbeaten sort last time on the all-weather, but will be helped by the return to turf and should benefit from a small field, so could easily dominate under Christophe Soumillon.

Tom Collins, tipster

What the stats say

The race has produced the future Prix du Jockey Club winner three times in the last eight years, although two subsequent winners of the Classic were beaten here.

What connections say

Pia Brandt, trainer of Mkfancy
I was happy with his run the last time and he's not going to take on too many horses. He's in very good shape at home. The Prix du Jockey Club is his target this season.

Freddy Head, trainer of Another Sky
He was very impressive first time out. It's a good race but we'll see. I think he'd have a good chance.

Andre Fabre, trainer of Ocean Atlantique
He's an unknown horse really but he's well bred and a good-looking colt. We could have gone for something smaller with him but we wanted to give him a test to see where we are with him.

Carlos Laffon-Parias, trainer of Nat King
I think plenty of him and you can forget his comeback run because he hadn't done much real work and he pulled very hard. He didn't give himself a chance to breathe properly but as a son of Nathaniel he should be much more at home on the turf and I hope he can make up for his first start of the year.

Christophe Ferland, trainer of Pao Alto
He easily won two races as a juvenile but then unfortunately went sick the day before the Criterium de Saint-Cloud. After returning to the stable he took a little bit of time to come back to himself but he now seems to be right. We'll see how he goes there but the ambition is the Prix du Jockey Club.

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