Arc second favourite Almanzor returns to action for Rouget

3.00 Deauville
Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club (Group 3) | 1m2f, 4yo+ | ATR

Summer creeps towards autumn and the wait for his comeback has been long, but last year's European champion Almanzor finally makes his return to racing on a stunning seaside afternoon at Deauville.

On a card that will greatly interest the connections of Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe favourite Enable, the two stablemates chasing her up in the Chantilly ante-post market will strut their stuff, with the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained Almanzor running 45 minutes before the year-younger Brametot.

Both horses have a win in the Prix du Jockey Club to their name, but after Almanzor claimed Classic success he went on to use his blistering turn of foot to great effect when claiming both the Irish Champion Stakes and Champion Stakes, plus the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano on this card 12 months ago.

Since those victories he has had a brush with the EHV-1 virus that savaged one of Rouget's barns but, mercifully, did little harm to a colt who reappears in the Group 3 Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club, one of the highlights of Deauville's traditional Assumption Day bank holiday action.

"It's a good opportunity because Almanzor is getting weight from most of his rivals," said Rouget, who also saddles Zafiro as pacemaker.

"He's taken his work well having galloped with Brametot last week. He's moving better and has got rid of the excess weight. Having missed the first half of the season I hope he can make up for it in the second part."

While Brametot can be backed at 8-1 for the Arc, Almanzor is a best-priced 7-1. He will, however, be an odds-on favourite for the Gontaut-Biron, in which opponents include Goodwood Listed winner First Sitting, whose trainer, Chris Wall, inflicted a shock defeat on Rouget earlier this year when Mix And Mingle beat Qemah at Lingfield.

"He has to give weight to Almanzor, which seems a bit odd, but we defeated Mr Rouget at Lingfield and I would quite like to singe his beard in his own backyard," said Wall.

"The horse is very well and he'll enjoy the ease in the ground. We could have run him at Haydock on Saturday but that looked a trappy race. He could have run well without winning any money at all, whereas in this race he has a reasonable chance of getting some prize-money.

"I'm hoping he'll be competitive and not let the side down."