Abbaye analysis and insight as Highfield Princess seeks a Group 1 breakthrough this season

An interesting experiment is set to play out in this year's Prix de l'Abbaye. This is well known as a heavily biased draw race where very much the place to be is in the low-numbered stalls near the favoured rail. Yet virtually all the interesting horses are drawn high. Is the bias strong enough to persist?

Since this meeting returned to Longchamp in 2018, only one horse drawn higher than stall ten (2018 winner Mabs Cross in 13) has made the first four. Go down this field in order of weight-adjusted Racing Post Ratings – in other words, the form picks – and you will find the horses in stalls 14, 13, 11, 12, eight, nine and 19.

Also drawn wide in 16 is Coeur De Pierre. Last time out he won the Group 3 Prix du Petit Couvert, a major trial previously used by the likes of 2019 winner Glass Slippers.

Perhaps the biggest winner from the draw was the rival he beat a head into second that day. Ponntos is a bullet and there is scarcely a big five-furlong sprint he hasn't led for three furlongs. He is in stall two this time and is likely to have the sought-after rail all to himself. Look out also for Prix du Petit Couvert third Asymmetric, who is in stall seven and remains lightly raced for his current connections.

In a fair fight, none of these horses would have a chance against Highfield Princess. But big-field sprints are the antithesis of laboratory conditions, as she reminded us when blowing out in the Flying Five at the Curragh last time.

She may still be fast enough to get a prominent position from 14, especially if joining forces with Art Power immediately on her inside. If you want to see a championship performance, that is your best hope. But the Abbaye is not really about crowning champions.
Race analysis by Keith Melrose

'Every chance' of Group 1 reward says Quinn

It would not be a top-class sprint without the likeable Highfield Princess on the racecard and the John Quinn-trained mare bids to gain a Group 1 reward for her consistency through a busy season.

She was placed in the two all-age Group 1 sprints at Royal Ascot in the space of four days, won the Group 2 King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood and went close in the Nunthorpe, and now she heads to France in search of a first top-level win of the campaign.

She won three of them last season but did not contest the Abbaye as Quinn opted instead for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, where she finished a respectable fourth.

He hopes her class will prevail this time. "We're happy with her, she's absolutely fine," he said. "It's a good Group 1 with plenty of runners and contenders but she's in good form and I hope we get some luck. She's travelled over well and I think she's got every chance."

Lightning fancied to strike

A gelding operation transformed Rogue Lightning from a moderate handicapper to one of Britain's most exciting sprinting prospects and the Tom Clover-trained three-year-old faces his biggest test yet in Group 1 company.

Having finished ninth on his first British start of the season, he was gelded in May before coming back to win handicaps at Doncaster and Ascot impressively and then stepped up smoothly to Listed level in the Scarbrough Stakes. He tackles top-level company for the first time and will also have to overcome the widest berth in stall 19.

Rogue Lightning beats Raasel in the Scarbrough Stakes at Doncaster

Rogue Lightning: seeking a fourth consecutive victoryCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Clover said: "He's been very progressive since he was gelded and dropped to five furlongs. He's a sprinter in form and it should be decent ground, which I hope will help negate the difficult draw. I'd rather not be in stall 19 but it's not impossible."

What they say

Nicolas Caullery, trainer of Batwan
Stall 18 might not be a great draw but we have fast horses around us like Aesop's Fables. Although we’re out wide I expect the British and Irish jockeys to keep quite straight and not dive for the inside rail. If he gets a good tow into the race and can be in the first five, we’ll be very happy.

Charlie Hills, trainer of Equilateral and Equality
Equilateral wouldn't want the ground too soft but he won well last time out and should have gained some confidence from that. We're happy with him and it's an open enough race. Equality ran a terrific race in the Flying Five and looks up to this level now.

Tim Easterby, trainer of Art Power
He didn't run his usual race at the Curragh last time and I'm not sure why, but we're very happy with him and he's going there in very good form.

Maurizio Guarnieri, trainer of Asymmetric
He was third in the prep run and has come out of it very well, and is enjoying his racing. We have Frankie Dettori aboard and, while it’s a very tough race, he has earned his right to be in a line-up like this.

Yann Barberot, trainer of Bouttemont
He was unlucky at the Curragh because they had a lot of rain just before the race and he really wants quick ground, which he will have on Sunday. He is very well drawn and although he's an outsider, I'm looking forward to it.

Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Aesop's Fables
He was third at the Curragh last weekend over six furlongs and he's back to five for this with blinkers on. He seems to have taken the Curragh race well.

Ed Walker, trainer of Makarova
She's stepped her form up to another level since being dropped back to five furlongs and finished a fine fourth in the Nunthorpe at York last month. She was 40-1 there and may be a long price again, but she always seems to defy her odds. She looks in great shape and hopefully she can be competitive.

George Boughey, trainer of Perdika
This has been the plan since she won her first stakes race in France at the start of the year. She had one blip at Chantilly in June when she scoped dirty but she had a break after that, needed the run at York and then improved at Ayr. She has improved physically again and looks as well as she ever has. She’s well drawn and I think she’ll go very well.
Reporting by James Stevens

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