Sottsass and Victor Ludorum among big names declared for Monday return

French racing is set to return to action at Longchamp on Monday with no small degree of fanfare as a host of well-known names appeared among the final declarations on Friday morning.

Sottsass, Europe's highest-rated three-year-old in 2019, will make his first start since finishing third in the Arc last October in the Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt over 1m2f, a race that has attracted a field of nine.

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Earlier in the afternoon, Andre Fabre's unbeaten Group 1 winner Victor Ludorum sets out on his three-year-old campaign in the Prix de Fontainebleau, a major trial for the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas) on June 1.

Victor Ludorum will be renewing rivalry with Ecrivain and Helter Skelter, both of whom finished behind the son of Shamardal in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc day.

Stablemate Earthlight is on the sidelines for a few days after suffering a mild fetlock sprain during work on Tuesday.

Fabre has a strong hand to play on opening day and is responsible for the likely favourite in the Prix de la Grotte, where Cheveley Park Stakes third Tropbeau will test her stamina over a mile in a field of 10 fillies which also features the highly-regarded Khayzaraan.

131 horses have been declared across the ten-race card, while unsurprisingly there are also healthy field sizes for the other two meetings on Monday, with 155 heading to the jumps fixture at Compiegne and 137 for the mixed evening card at Toulouse.

Prize-money cuts aimed at protecting lower grades

On Thursday France Galop announced plans for a restructuring of prize-money as the sport scrambles to make up for seven weeks of lost revenues and help support racing professionals left in difficulty by the crisis.

The governing body has adopted what it describes as a progressive strategy, with a 40 per cent cut to prize-money for Group 1s but a commitment to maintaining prize-money levels at the lowest rung of the ladder.

Other Pattern races on the Flat will suffer a 30 per cent cut, as will all Listed and Graded races over jumps. An average of 20 per cent will be removed from non-stakes events but no races will be run at the Paris tracks for less than €19,000, while the lower limit in the regions will be €16,000.

France Galop pledged to return all races to their original 2020 values in 2021, while in another emergency measure they will not pay breeder's premiums for French-bred jumps winners overseas for the rest of the year.

Read more:

Face masks and empty paddocks: how racing returned from coronavirus in Germany

Top prospect Earthlight to miss key Guineas trial on Longchamp's comeback card

Monday's three comeback meetings in France draw staggering 1,069 entries

'He looks a top-class sprinter' – five French-trained horses to follow

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