FRENCH RACING TIPS: All the best bets for Sunday’s meeting at Deauville as Call The Wind bids for back-to-back wins in the Prix de Barbeville
- Call The Wind can prove the star attraction in the Prix de Barbeville at Deauville
- He ended a run of three second places by winning in Saudi Arabia in February
- Value seekers will probably look to Holdthasigreen as a reasonable play
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
The Group 3 Prix de Barbeville takes centre stage on Sunday’s nine-race Deauville programme and the marathon feature looks at the bequest of CALL THE WIND (3.25).
The layers are unlikely to take many chances with Freddy Head’s son of Frankel who recorded his first victory in 18 months on his latest start when landing the inaugural running of the valuable Longines Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia.
The cosy victory may have been a while coming, but landing a £1.1million handicap probably satisfied any impatience from connections who had previously witnessed the six-year-old chase home adversary Holdthasigreen in the Group 1 Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend in Paris.
The Group 3 Prix de Barbeville takes centre stage on Sunday’s nine-race Deauville programme
Call The Wind gained his revenge three weeks later in the Prix Royal-Oak, another Group 1 for stayers, however neither could keep tabs on the Martyn Meade-trained Technician who was too powerful for the duo who renew rivalries once more following any number of meetings last season.
Value seekers will probably look to Holdthasigreen as a reasonable play in a race which appears to revolve around the protagonists, but Call The Wind proved in Riyadh that a sound surface seems to suit more than connections once believed and his superior turn of foot and advanced fitness may prove the difference.
Later on the card, the Prix de Lormoy features the unbeaten TAWKEEL (5.10) who bids to strengthen her French Oaks credentials with success in the finale.
The striking Teofilo filly didn’t make her debut until January at Pau when she dismissed 15 rivals with a taking display prior to making her second start at Cagnes-Sur-Mer seven weeks later.
Sent off a well-backed favourite, Tawkeel bowled along at the head of affairs before being asked to lengthen in the straight by rider Cristian Demuro and the response was immediate as the duo shot clear of six rivals for an impressive triumph.
The step up in trip should hold no terrors for Jean-Claude Rouget’s three-year-old and the likes of stablemate La Norma and course and distance winner Wangari should represent a decent test at this stage of her career.
