Great card in France today,highlighted by PDD or French Oaks as its known..The news earlier this week was that ante-post Prix de l'Arc favourite Orfevre suffered a setback, so an impressive win by a filly in the Diane could send some shockwaves in the betting lists. Flotilla is best-priced at 5/2 with Stan James to win the Diane, which makes her a narrow favourite. She has a wide draw in nine, but in a field of 11 that includes her pacemaker Sage Melody, the draw should not have a massive impact on the result. Flotilla was beaten two lengths by Silasol in the Group One Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc Day last year, but the gluey ground did not suit her and she was short of room, which did not suit her long action. Delzangles was notably disappointed with that, but she has now atoned with wins in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the French 1000 Guineas.
What was remarkable was that Flotilla and Esoterique drew clear of a smart field in the Pouliches, leaving Tasaday toiling in third, but also that Flotilla went into that without the benefit of a prep race. She gets her fast ground here again, and with stamina doubts surrounding Esotérique's bid for the French Oaks, Flotilla probably deserves to be around 7/4 for this.
Esotérique is a stunning filly and has put in some incredible performances to boot. She lost her maiden tag on the first time of asking, thrashing Saint Thomas' time over C&D on the same Saint-Cloud card. She is best at 11/4 with BetVictor to win the Diane and certainly has class in abundance, but her owner believes there are major stamina concerns with this 2,100 metre trip. She hit the front in the Pouliches after travelling with the stamp of a high-class filly, and she was stopping at the end of the Vanteaux, when her market rival Silasol was making her seasonal reappearance.
This is a race that promises plenty, at least I hope so after last year's winner Valyra died before a crack at the Prix Vermeille, and the filly I think is over-priced is Carlos Laffon-Parias' dual Group One winner Silasol at 5/1 with BetVictor. If I was a layer I certainly would not offer any odds longer than 3/1. As a daughter of Monsun, the fast ground is not going to play to her strengths, but her run in the Vanteaux told us she copes fine on a quick surface. After finishing runner-up in the Vanteaux, she won the Saint-Alary in great style - although they finished in a bunch she responded brilliantly to pressure from retained rider Olivier Peslier to scythe through the field to land the Group One on the line.
She is from the family of Arc-winner Solémia, she is well-drawn in 3, and I cannot fathom why she is not shorter in the betting. The way she finishes her races, the 2,100 metres here are ideal, although she will probably be best at 2,400 metres in time, and she can be held up. I think she's the real deal and can see here running a big race in an Arc with cut in the ground.
Alterite has won three of her eight starts to date and almost bagged that elusive Group One in the Saint-Alary, when she just got collared by Silasol, having looked to have done the hard work shaking off the classy pair of Alumna and Siyenica. Jean-Claude Rouget has won this race twice, and this 12/1 shot is smart, you sense she needs cut to be at her very best and that her future lies in the US given her recent sale. She is another to have come from that strong Marcel Boussac, run last October.
André Fabre has Tasaday in here, third in the French 1000 Guineas, but always likely to be suited by further. She is 14/1 with Coral and has plenty to do to make up ground on the front two in the market. Fabre also has 16/1 poke Baltic Baroness, the mount of Pierre-Charles Boudot who is in tremendous form. She won the Prix Cleopatre cosily and is sure to stay the trip.
Alain De Royer-Dupré has an astonishing record in this - he has won six Dianes and he saddles Chicquita. She is 40/1 with bet365 and would have won her last start but for falling - she cost €600,000 as a yearling (her half-sister by Galileo went for €1,100,000) - and as such she probably make more appeal than Treve, a 16/1 shot taking a huge leap in company and has stamina doubts.
Finally Pearlside was third in the Vanteaux, so at 20/1 you could make a case for her. She was the best two-year-old in Spain last year and her trainer is no stranger to success at the highest level.
The Diane is off at 3.45pm local time on Sunday 16 June, which is 2.45pm UK time. It is live on At The Races.
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