PRIX DE LA PORTE DE MADRID

PRIX DE LA PORTE DE MADRID

Saint-Cloud - 19th March 2026 - “Tres Souple 3,9”

4YO+ Listed Race - 2,400m - €23,800

2:37.16 (Réduction KM 1:05.48)

A difficult race to assess. On the one hand, the runner-up came into this on the back of a Listed success in the Prix Max Sicard at Toulouse in November and the 3rd placed horse was hitting the frame in this contest for the 3rd consecutive season. On the other hand, the winner had the best part of 5 kilos in hand that these weights and having got himself to the front, he seemed to empty and was holding on in the last 25 yards.

Marquisat (Fabre) certainly deserved to be favourite for this race and had achieved more than any of his rivals on the track. He missed quite a bit of time last year, but he still managed to win the G3 Prix de Reux at Deauville and there was no disgrace to be found in his 4 length defeat behind subsequent G1 winner Sibayan 3-weeks later. He came up slightly short on his 2 previous tries in Group 1 company, but one of those was in Sha Tin and I think it’s important to remember that he got within 2 lengths of Goliath when he was a 4-year-old. If we take the view that this was his first run since August and he will improve for it, then this looks like a decent piece of form. Having sat behind the pace, he battled well under Alexis Pouchin and hit the front with a furlong to run. A lack of fitness may explain his tired final furlong, but he did drop his pace considerably once hitting the front and both Rashford (3rd) and Daring Prince (4th) ran similar final furlong splits. He was getting a kilo from the runner-up, who is rated 4 kg inferior to him and as a result, I don’t think we can say he got close to his official rating. In reality, he didn’t need to get to 51 kg to win this, but there is just a small note of caution needed before i can consider him back to his peak 2024 and 2025 levels.

Chestnut Rocket (Karkosa) had won a Listed race over this trip on heavy ground at Toulouse in November and confirmed that form with Daring Prince here. He is a multiple winner in his native Poland, but has translated that form to France and should continue to be competitive around Listed level on this evidence. Having raced more prominently than the winner, he got first run in the straight. He couldn’t repel the speed shown by Marquisat in the penultimate furlong, but he kept on to finish 2nd and shaped like he might be capable of staying a little bit further, which would give his connections a few more options in the weeks ahead.

Rashford (Donworth) is now on his 4th trainer, but he has run to at least the same level of form that he had shown when placing in this race in 2024 and 2025. He is best when there is cut in the ground and probably found this about as quick as he would like it, but he stuck to his task well to hold 3rd place without ever really looking like he would win. He won a G3 in Germany in October and ended 2025 with a fine 3rd placed finish in the G1 Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern behind Bay City Roller. That perhaps flatters the level of form that he can achieve, but if there is soft ground under his feet, he is a solid Listed class performer and should be able to pay his way for his new yard as he has for others in the past.

Others to Note

I remain unconvinced by Hamavi (Fabre) who finished 6th. He was well placed towards the front of the 8 runner field, but found little, although it’s worth noting that he did look to be carrying quite a lot of condition on this first start since September. He won a couple of Listed races last year, but they have experimented with both trip and riding tactics and he just appears to be a little bit one paced. To be fair to the horse, he was on terms with the leader with 400m to run, but he faded tamely in the final furlong. He will need to come on signficantly for the benefit of this run.

Summary

This year’s running of the Prix de la Porte de Madrid at least matches the level of form shown by the most recent winners Homo Deus (2024) and Internaute (2025). MARQUISAT will need to improve if he is going to add to his current haul of Group race success, but given that we cannot be sure as to his level of fitness after a break, I think I will give him a pass and he did win the race as the ratings suggested he should have. He will probably face much classier rivals next time, but this will be job done for his connections and the right horses did manage to chase him home. As an estimate, I’d have him running to somewhere in the region of 48 kg (105 UK) on Thursday, so he will need to sharper than this next time. RASHFORD needs to be treated with some caution given that he is quite ground dependent and hasn’t always carried his early season form into the Summer months in the past, but CHESTNUT ROCKET is a consistent horse who stays well and his connections should be able to find more races around this level for him.