"The fact that they moved to make this purchase in March is highly significant and he is a name to note".

"Whilst I certainly won't be getting carried away with this form, there was potentially an above average winner of this race to take note of".

A review of the Prix Hubert de Navailles, which saw the return of Theleme after an absence of 2 years.

"It would be a mistake to write him off as a fluke just because of his SP, but how this run translates to open company against older horses is impossible to predict at this stage".

There are plenty of better races to watch this week both in France and of course at Cheltenham, but I would also add that there is some benefit to spending a few minutes looking at the principles in Sundays AQPS race at Machecoul.

"As older horse maidens go, this wasn’t the worst by any means and the only horse to take out of it would be Serenissimus".

"I don’t think the performance of Silius should be underestimated and if there is a horse in this year’s Prix Altipan that is capable of making his mark at a higher level, it is him".

"He’s worthy of note and should be more than capable of winning races for his new connections as a 4-year-old'.

I wouldn’t normally be overly excited about a 4-year-old hurdle at Fontainebleau in February, especially with the first 3-year-old hurdles of the new season at Compiegne next week, but there were a couple of newcomers that really caught my eye in the Prix des Heronnieres and so I will make an exception for this race.

Another day and another impressive winner for Daniela Mele in a 4-year-old AQPS race, this time at Saumur.

"She is the best AQPS prospect that we have seen so far in 2026". A review of Mahollia's win in the Prix des Haras Nationaux at Fontainebleau on Saturday.

There have been a couple of interesting 4-year-olds make winning debuts over hurdles this week and the latest was Ivan du Berry.

Watching all of the Racing in the French provinces can be an arduous task, but when you spot horses with potential like Mister Banker, it makes it worthwhile.

The tight turns of Machecoul clearly suit and if he can build on this, there is no reason to think that he won’t win more races.

Callisto du Nord has been quietly going about his business and he has now made such a significant step forwards, that there is every chance he will develop into one of the best 4-year-olds in France.

There are just one or two signs from the All-Weather cards that some of the better horses are stepping up their preparations for the season ahead. One such sign came in the final race on Friday nights card at Deauville in the Prix Priolo.

Horizon Dore is the highest rated horses that we have seen running in France so far in 2026, but his return on Sunday can only be described as underwhelming.

As 4-year-olds go, he is one of the more exciting prospects running at this time of the year...

This race has a serious pedigree. The last 3 renewals have all been won by Jean-Claude Rouget with Ace Impact (2023), Arrow Eagle (2024) and Leffard (2025) who all went on to win in Group 1 company. Here's my review of the 2026 renewal.

Jean-Claude Rouget is no stranger to the Cagnes-Sur-Mer winner’s enclosure, but he won’t have had too many winners here that were as comfortable as AFANDY.