Deauville Ambitions.
The Prix Haras de Fresnay - Jacques le Marois is considered the feature race of the Summer Meeting at Deauville, even if the Prix Maurice de Gheest has already set the bar very high. Once again, the French will be in the minority and do not show enormous confidence ahead of Sunday's race. On Tuesday morning, Jean-Claude Rouget delivered his ambitions after the last work of Erevann and Djo Français.
It is barely 6:30 a.m. and the sky is pink above Deauville. It's been almost a month since it rained on the Normandy coast, but the grass on La Touque racecourse track remains green with expert maintenance which means that, halfway through this summer meeting, you won't notice degradation on this track, which is being used eight times a day, four days a week – without counting the morning trackwork trainings. Jean-Claude Rouget watches his two Marois contenders. Both remain on a last-start victory in a Group 3 on the mile of Chantilly, on the day of the Prix de Diane 19 June.
Djo Français won in a close finish the Prix Bertrand du Breuil. This four-year-old son of Intello is more experienced and above all has great consistency with ten top three finishes from eleven outings. He will have to carry more weight than the three-year-olds but he is a hard worker.
Erevann will be contesting just his fourth race. To date, he is undefeated and succeeded recently in the tactical and yet fast-run Prix Paul de Moussac, recording the mile slightly faster than the race won by Djo Français.
On Tuesday the two horses galloped together under the watchful eyes of their trainer Jean-Claude Rouget who spoke about his expectations. "This morning, the gallop was satisfactory for Erevann and Djo Français. It was a little less strong exercise than last week. We try to keep a bit of freshness for a race that will be difficult for them. In this Marois, they go up in category, but we have to represent France.
They are running for the places because this edition is very tough, but they are definitely able to make the finish. We will wait for this race which will then determine a lot for their future program. We want to keep Erevann in training as a four-year-old. Of course, there is Prix Moulin de Longchamp, which is the logical next step, but the Marois will allow us to compare their level with English horses."
The ground will be a question mark but for the trainer too. Djo Français ran once on good ground at his third race start, however this is not the case with Erevann. Undefeated in three races, he commenced on heavy ground for his debut and has since face good-to-soft surfaces.
The other question will be the straight course, an exercise that can challenge even the best horse. To win it will be necessary to beat horses which have caused a sensation in England with several competitors already holding more than half a million euros in earnings.
The other "Rouget" runners for the weekend August 14-15
● Wally has never been as good as now. He's peaking and we hope to win again Prix Gontaut Biron.
● Lassaut will run in the Prix Nureyev. It's a step down from the level of his previous races. He will run against less horses and this can only be better for him and the way he races.
● Al Hakeem has been targeted for the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano since Prix du Jockey Club. We are pretty confident.
● La Mehana will run Prix Michel Houyvet with a good show.
● Kubrick is very well. I rarely run a Class 2 race with a maiden horse, but I really think he has the ability to win this because the contenders who have already recorded a win will have more weight than him.
