Rouget's Olmedo lives up to expectations at Tuesday debutante's ball

There is always a danger of inflated expectations ahead for a card which is historically informative, and the fact this column put a big red circle around the date of August 8 only adds to the possibility that the Prix de Crevecoeur and the Prix des Marettes might not live up to their billing.

But racegoers will have left with two big impressions burned into their memories and it is to be hoped we will be hearing plenty more of both Olmedo and Efaadah in the near future.

Olmedo won the colts' newcomers race for colts at Deauville on Tuesday for Jean-Claude Rouget in the Antonio Caro colours of AlmanzorCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

"It is quite unbelievable because Antonio doesn't have that many horses in training," said Jean-Claude Rouget after Olmedo swept down the middle of the track under Cristian Demuro to score in the Prix de Crevecour in the blue silks of Antonio Caro made famous in recent seasons by Avenir Certain and Almanzor.

Like those two Classic winners, Olmedo is jointly owned by Caro and Gerard Augustin-Normand, and was purchased at Arqana by Rouget for the not outrageous sum of €100,000.

Demuro had only two behind him leaving the back straight and was obliged to make progress four horses wide on the turn.

But the manner in which the Declaration Of War colt picked up in the straight was undeniably impressive and the Italian was looking around for non-existent dangers well before the line.

"He is among the big hopes we have for the end of this year and next," said Rouget. "He has worked well in the morning and I'm not surprised he showed up well in the afternoon.

"He needs to back this performance up now. He is very calm and easy to be around and he has some stride on him. I love to see a horse really separate himself from his field like that."

The Crevecoeur has thrown up good horses in recent years in the shape of Charm Spirit and Anodin, while last year's winner following a stewards' inquiry, Akihiro, went on to strike at Group 3 level on his next start.

Efaadah (Freddy Head / Aurelien Lemaitre) impresses in winning the Prix des Marettes at Deauville on TuesdayCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

If the Crevecoeur is always keenly watched then the sister race for fillies is almost an invitation to Group 1s by the end of the season if the last two runnings are anything to go by.

And that looks a very realistic ambition for Freddy Head's Efaadah, who followed up impressive successes by stablemates Tantheem and Polydream in two-year-old races for fillies earlier in the meeting.

A Dansili half-sister to last year's Prix Morny runner-up Alrahma –who unfortunately was killed in a gallops accident in March – Efaadah was taken to the lead early from her outside draw and when overdrive was engaged, she burned off her rivals in taking style.

"She has been working well and she was tuned up for this so I expected her to run well but, she has a ridiculous amount of class," said Head. "Her sister was very good and this one doesn't look very much like her but she has a lot of class.

"She will gain in experience which will bring about some improvement but I brought her here ready to do her job. I suppose we'll look at a race like the Prix d'Aumale. What really pleased me is she was badly drawn but she really relaxed nicely when Aurelien [Lemaitre] took her to the front and then showed a serious turn of foot."

The last two winners of the Marettes have been Antonoe – who won at Group 3 level in the Aumale next up and has won her Group 1 in the US this season after suffering injury problems – and La Cochere, who was never able to show how far she could have gone owing to physical problems.

Last year's winner Coronation Stakes winner Qemah was beaten by Antonoe in 2015, while last year's runner-up was none other than Prix de Diane heroine Senga.

From that point of view it will be worth watching the Carlos Laffon-Parias-trained Soustraction as the season progresses.

The Wertheimers' daughter of Lope De Vega pulled well clear of the rest and was not given a hard time by Maxime Guyon once Efaadah had gone beyond recall.

No more nights Chez Herve

Herve: 'I am under less time pressure to make it here for the first race !Credit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

There has been a major change to the culinary landscape in Deauville in 2017 with the news that Chez Herve has served its last cover.

A regular sight on the racecourse at Deauville and down at his beloved Auteuil in Paris, Herve is now able to devote even more time to the turf after retiring from one of the town's most enduring institutions.

"I must say thank you to everyone for their loyalty first of all," said the eponymous restaurateur on Tuesday. "I am very sad in a way but all good things must come to an end. I've been 25 years in Deauville and 17 at Chez Herve. Of course now I am under less time pressure to make it here for the first race!

"I have a lot of great memories shared with people who came back again and again over the years."