'If he were able to win you could pretty much say he's the leader' - sprint ace Lazzat primed for big Deauville show

Jerome Reynier is hoping that Lazzat can take the next step towards cementing his position as the leading sprinter in Europe when facing ten rivals in defence of his crown in Sunday's Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville (3.05).

Lazzat, reunited with Ryan Moore, will have a rematch with the Kevin Ryan-trained Inisherin, who he beat into seventh in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. Ed Bethell's stable star Regional and the Charlie Appleby pair Shadow Of Light and Symbol Of Honour offer further British-trained opposition.

• Don't miss these four big international races this weekend - including Billy Loughnane teaming up with Godolphin in Germany 

Speaking after Lazzat's final easy breeze under regular rider Franck Blondel around Deauville's all-weather training track, Reynier said: "The ranking among the sprinters in Europe is far from clear at this stage, as we saw in the July Cup. 

"If he were able to win you could pretty much say he's the leader and then hopefully he could confirm that in the Champions Sprint [in October] at Ascot."

Jerome Reynier (centre): "If he were able to win on Sunday you could pretty much say he's the leader"Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Lazzat holds entries in both the City of York Stakes and the Haydock Sprint Cup but Reynier is not keen to go to the well too often before what could be a climactic October for the four-year-old son of Territories.

"I think we’ll stay in Europe for the rest of this year and think about travelling further afield again next year when he’s five," said Reynier. "We might look at the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai as his first objective, given it’s over a straight track on good ground.

"In terms of his programme we mustn’t ask too much and he’s the titleholder for the Maurice de Gheest, while he gets a bonus with the French premiums, so this is a logical choice, and maybe he can do what legendary horses like Marchand D’Or and Moonlight Cloud managed and win three in a row." 

Reynier added: "I think we’ll make a priority of the Prix de la Foret over Arc weekend and then the Champions Sprint two weeks later. So I think if he’s going to run twice close together, that will be the time to do it, just before a winter break."

Reynier is also focused on Ascot for Facteur Cheval - twice a runner-up on Champions Day - who has not been seen since fading late on in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at the royal meeting.

Facteur Cheval chases Charyn in last season's Queen Elizabeth II StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

"The race at Ascot really took a heavy toll on Facteur Cheval mentally and physically and we’ve had to give him a long time to get over it," said Reynier of the six-year-old. "He lost a lot of condition and a lot of desire but, step by step, he’s coming back.

"He’s entered in the Prix du Moulin but I think that might come too soon and the ground might still be pretty fast at the start of September. 

"We’ll see, but it wouldn’t bother me to go straight to the QEII and get him ready at home. When he won the Dubai Turf he hadn’t run for five months and he's a horse that you can prepare in the mornings.

"If there is one race in the year for him it’s that, because he’s run two mighty races in second behind Big Rock and Charyn. He really loves the straight mile at Ascot on soft ground."

Maurice de Gheest confirmed runners and riders

Inisherin Ryan Moore
Beauvatier Alexis Pouchin
Sajir Oisin Murphy
Regional Callum Rodriguez
Tribalist Cristain Demuro
Topgear Stephane Pasquier
Lazzat James Doyle
Shadow Of Light William Buick
Symbol Of Honour Tom Marquand
Woodshauna Christophe Soumillon
Rayevka Mickael Barzalona

Prix Maurice de Gheest (3.05 Deauville, Sunday)
Coral: 7-4 Lazzat, 6 Rayevka, 8 Topgear, Woodshauna, 9 Inisherin, 11 Shadow Of Light, 12 Regional, Tribalist, 14 Beauvatier, 16 Symbol Of Honour, 20 Sajir.

Read these next:

'It could add a different dimension to Regional' - Ed Bethell looking to lower Lazzat's colours in French Group 1 

Inisherin set for Lazzat rematch in French Group 1 as team bid to bounce back from Royal Ascot disappointment 

Don't miss these four big international races this weekend - including Billy Loughnane teaming up with Godolphin in Germany 

In The Form Hacker, betting editor Keith Melrose will help Racing Post+ subscribers to stay on top of the Flat season by using the most sophisticated racing data to analyse the recent action and identify the horses to watch and the formlines to follow - as well as highlighting some cracking bets.Not a Racing Post+ subscriber? You can sign up now using the code FORMHACKER20 to get your first month of Racing Post+ Ultimate for just £20 - that's a 60% discount.