PRIX DE MAISONS-LAFFITTE

PRIX DE MAISONS-LAFFITTE

Auteuil 26th September 2026

If we were to remind the clock 12-months, it would have seemed impossible at that stage to think that Leopard du Berlais would not have been the best 4-year-old in France. He was imperious as a juvenile and won the G1 Prix Cambaceres last November with relative ease, but for whatever reason, 2026 has simply not been his year and I am starting to head towards the conclusion that he may not have trained on from 3 to 4. This was his first start since May and having been only 7 lengths behind Selma de Vary in the Prix Alain du Breil at the Grand Steeple Chase meeting, he has still run to a very high standard this year, but he just doesn’t appear to be finishing his races in the same style that he showed as a 3-year-old. He may improve for this run, but having sat just behind the all-the-way winner, he was in an ideal position and looked beaten when he began to make tired jumping errors in the home straight. Whilst I won’t write him off entirely as such a young horse, the overwhelming feeling that I got from the Prix de Maisons Laffitte is that the competition has now caught up with Leopard du Berlais.

I think that’s enough time spent on David Cottin’s charge because aside from his performance, there were a lot of positives to take from this Grade 3 contest, especially from the winner. GUADALQUIVIR is still an entire and whilst his form last season was nothing to really write home about, he was given a tough task in the Prix Cambaceres on just his 2nd start. That perhaps shows the high regard with which he was held and there is no doubt that he has definitely taken a big step forward this year. He is quite a big son of Zarak and there were some obvious signs on Saturday that Guadalquivir has matured and grown into his frame over the Summer. Ridden aggressively by James Reveley, I thought he jumped nicely throughout and once brought across to the stands side rail, he found more than enough in the closing stages to be considered good value for the 7 length winning margin. If we take his final 1,000m as a guide, he was quicker than both  Delmegan (2nd) and Maharaja (3rd) according to the McLloyd sectional data and this was a career best by some way from the 4-year-old.

Delmegan may well have needed the run and her earlier form with Selma de Vary, as well as her victory in the G2 Prix Amadou, a race in which Guadalquivir was only 6th, reads well. Having been further back than was perhaps ideal, she finished her race well and having conceded weight to the winner, her connections will no doubt have been encouraged by this effort. Like many of these runners, she holds an entry in the G1 Prix Renaud du Vivier in November and there will be reasons to think that she can reverse this form. However, the way that Guadalquivir traveled in front would suggest to me that he has taken a significant step forward and at this stage, these 2 would look to be the more likely winners of the last Grade 1 Hurdle race open to the 4-year-olds before they have to taken on their elders next year.