PRIX PRIOLO

The new turf season at Saint-Cloud is a little over a month away and 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 Class 1 Prix Priolo for the 3-year-olds over 1,300m. This was a €16,000 contest and the pre-race focus was certainly on the return of No Tune. She had looked to be a very exciting 2-year-old for the Wertheimer’s and Christopher Head when she won her first 2 starts at Chantilly in the Spring. An injury meant that she missed the rest of the 2025 campaign and this was perhaps a slightly earlier than expected return for this daughter of No Nay Never. Christopher Head does like to have his horses fairly fit when they return and as you will see from my notes below I thought she ran a fine race on the back of her absence. However, whilst all eyes may have been on No Tune, I think that it is important not to overlook the performance of the winner, who may well be one of the best All-Weather sprinters around. Here are my notes;

PRIX PRIOLO

Deauville - 6th February 2026 - PSF Standard

3YO C1 - 1,300m - €16,000

1:17.19 (Réduction KM 59.37) - Finishing Speed 103.8%

This was a 3rd win in a row for Kailani and his best to date. He is by Goken out of Dizzy Bizu. She was a rapid Listed sprinter as a juvenile and he appears to have inherited all of his mother’s speed now that he is running on a sound surface. Alexis Pouchin had a relatively simple task, bouncing out to get to the front, controlling the pace around the bend and then kicking for home with 500m to run. He was holding on in the closing stages and his fastest furlong split was the 11.05s that he recorded for the penultimate furlong at a top speed of 64.5 km/h. When compared to the other races on the card, this was fairly rapid, but there are some doubts over Kailani away from the PSF. He struggled on the turf last summer and it could be that he is simply a better horse around a bend on the polytrack. That’s fine and there will be plenty of races to be won with this Colt in the next couple of months before the grass season kicks into gear.

Dandy Style (2nd) won races at Thirsk and Hamilton for Bryan Smart, leaving the UK with an official rating of 81 on the back of a handicap success in September. He sold for 52,000 gns at Tattersalls in the autumn and showed plenty on his first run for Philippe Decouz to suggest he will be able to return that investment in France. The tongue-tie was added for this debut and it did seem to help him to finish his race as he closed on the winner all the way to the line, running closing splits of 10.93 and 11.10s, the fastest recorded by the McLloyd sectional times. Having been last of the 5 when they turned for home, he readily came past the other 3 and it’s not impossible to think that he may have reversed the result had he been closer to the leader.

No Tune (3rd) had looked very exciting when winning her first 2 starts last year. She missed the rest of the season with injury, but appeared to show that he ability remained in tact with what would look to be a very pleasing comeback run. Although a little keen on the run to the turn, she traveled strongly around the bend and looked the most likely winner at the 400m pole. She recorded 10.96s for the penultimate furlong but tired in the closing stages as Dandy Style came past. She should take a step forward from this.

Pen and Sword (4th) lacked the tactical speed in the closing stages, but on this first start since August he ran a decent race and should find a Class 2 race or possibly a handicap over 1,400m in the weeks ahead. Inju (5th) won a maiden in December and took this step up in class well, although her lack of experience appeared to tell against her in the home straight. Racing in the pocket behind the leader didn’t help and she was only nudged out when it became clear that she wouldn’t win. There will be easier tasks for her, but she is quite a petite filly and I would prefer to see her ridden wide with more racing room. Miss Chiquita raced prominently but began to fade with 2 furlongs to run. She finished a length and a quarter behind Kailani last time and was beaten over 4 lengths this time. A C1 race was perhaps slightly beyond her at this stage.

Summary

This was a very good sprint contest for the PSF season. I really like Kailani and he is developing into one of the best All-Weather performers in France. His early speed is the key and going around a bend has really helped him to finish his races. He will need to prove he can be this effective on the turf, but for now he should continue to be competitive. Both Dandy Style and No Tune can be expected to take steps forward for their first runs of the 2026 campaign and I’d be happy to back both to reverse the form at some point on a straight course where their strong travelling styles may be more effective.