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.

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.

We can assume that there is further improvement to come and he looks the horse most likely to make his mark in a higher grade.

All the clamor over inspections and abandoned fixtures has hidden the fact the European turf season has got underway this week at Cagnes-Sur