PRIX GUILLAUME D'ORNANO PREVIEW

PRIX GUILLAUME D'ORNANO PREVIEW

Deauville - 15th August

This race has a very good recent pedigree. Economics, Ace Impact, Mishriff, Almanzor, New Bay….and those are just some of the winners in the last 15 years. I could have also added that Almaqam, Arrow Eagle, Al Riffa, Junko, Study of Man and Zarak are amongst the names of the beaten horses during the same time period. At this point in time, I’m not sure that the 2026 renewal has attracted a winner of that quality, but we have several form lines that revolve around the Prix du Jockey Club form and with the majority of the 5 runner field still in the “unexposed” bracket, it would be a mistake to try and write this form off. Here's ,your summary of the 5 runners;

Daryzan (FH Graffard)

A half-brother to Daryz and Dariyan amongst others, he lived up to his lofty reputation when making a winning start at Saint-Cloud in May by 5 lengths. Thrown into the Prix du Jockey Club on his 2nd start, it was a huge task to set for such an inexperienced horse and a wide draw in stall 10 didn’t help. Having been further back than ideal, he finished his race well and ran the final 600m in 34.81s, which ranked 3rd overall and was half a second quicker than the winner Constitution River. Dropped back into conditions race company next time, he won as he was entitled to do under Mickael Barzalona. At the weights, he had at least 5 kilos in hand and after being asked to go and win his race, Barzalona was keen to allow him to win without stretching him too far, presumably with a bigger target like this in mind. He still closed with splits of 10.77 and 10.86s and having been there mainly for educational purposes, it’s fair to say that he should probably take another step forward from that Chantilly run. On pure speed alone, he is the fastest horse in the field and it’s hard to make a case for Mickael Barzalona being too far back this time in such a small field. His stamina has yet to be confirmed, but this looks well within range even if one of his rivals tries to make it more of a test. There are entries in the Prix Niel, the Prix Prince D’Orange, the Prix Dollar and the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe and he should really win this race if those ambitions are to be realised this year. At present, he is the only runner without Black Type on his CV, but that is surely just a matter of time.

Baroud (A&L Fabre)

Eventually won a maiden at the 4th time of asking when winning over 2,400m at Saint-Cloud in April and has largely held his form since. He finished 5th behind Varandir in a steadily run renewal of the Prix Hocquart and chased home Pearled Majesty in the Eugene Adam. Those are solid runs and he is a Group performer, but he did little more than plug on for 2nd place when outclassed at Saint-Cloud and if one or more of his main rivals are to prove themselves to be G1 performers, which their form would suggest they may well do, he will probably come up short once again.

Montreal (Aidan O’Brien)

Won a Leopardstown maiden last year and has already made 2 trips to France in 2026. He finished 2nd in the Prix des Suresnes behind Dolmalan in April. The winner was unbeaten at that stage and having been ridden forwards, Montreal did set the race up for him in what seemed to be match practice for his pacemaking duties in the Prix du Jockey Club. He reversed that form in the Prix du Jockey Club itself and set a fair pace in front, albeit that he was ultimately passed by his 2 stablemates. The form is a slight unknown because although his stablemate has boosted it by winning the Eclipse in the interim period, the race was controlled by the Ballydoyle runners and I do think Montreal was slightly flattered by getting within 2 lengths of a horse like Constitution River. Ryan Moore comes over to ride which is a clear plus and it does appear that there is a soft lead on offer once again, but Daryzan seems likely to be much closer at the halfway point this time and he was 1.5s quicker over the final 600m of the French Derby. He has good form on his CV, but the Leopardstown maiden is the only win and so even though the French handicapper has him as the best horse on the ratings, I’d argue the case at this stage that Daryzan is the more likely to improve again.

Hello Jo (M Baratti)

Won a Listed race on the All-Weather at Chantilly in March but has had his limitations exposed since, including when only 8th Italy when last seen in June. He’s a nice horse and will probably find easier assignments than this in the months ahead, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that he is highly likely to be a clear outsider and rightly so on the balance of his form.

Proof (C Head)

Easily the hardest horse to try and assess. He finished 3rd in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in October and was easily the best of these that ran as a juvenile. He broke his maiden tag when returning in the Listed Prix Pelleas and was found a decent opportunity to make a comeback after an absence of almost 9 months. He controlled that race and held off the late challenge of Gentlemanlike, despite leaning to his right in the closing stages. This will require more, but he would be entitled to come on for the benefit of that run and on the evidence of his 2-year-old form, he is at least worth a try in this company so that connections can work out where they are with him. He has 4 subsequent entries, although he is not in the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe. Given the way that he finished the race up the hill at Compiegne, I do suspect that he may find Montreal and Daryzan a little too quick for him in the closing stages, but I can’t be sure as it is very hard to gauge how much improvement there may be to come on his 2nd start as a 3-year-old.

Pricing

Daryzan (135) 9/4

Baroud (100) 12/1

Montreal (135) 6/4

Hello Jo (95) 25/1

Proof (120) 9/2

The above would include my hypothetical pricing of the race, as close to 100% as I can get it. In reality, the gap between Montreal and Daryzan is likely to be a lot smaller once the overround has been taken into account. I’d have the pair in the region of 70-75% chances to take this between them. A price of 9/4 would be a bet for me with Daryzan, though I would probably take a much higher price on Proof (8/1 or bigger) because I can’t be sure how ready he was for his latest start. Montreal has achieved more and so he is worthy of favouritism, especially as the booking of Ryan Moore is worth a few lbs when he seems likely to be in charge of the pace. However, if there is a future Group 1 winner in this 5 runner field, I think it is much more likely to be Daryzan over Montreal and if he is within touching distance at the furlong pole, I do expect Daryzan to have too much speed for Montreal.