Samangan and Valasara are both being readied for key trials at Deauville next week before being considered for the the Betfred 2000 and 1000 Guineas respectively.
The colt Samangan won three of his four juvenile starts, rounding off his campaign with a Group Two success in the Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte at Chantilly, and he is set to test his stamina for a potential Classic bid by running over seven furlongs for the first time in the Prix Djebel on April 7.
Valasara, who was two from two last term but must also prove she is capable of making her mark over longer distances, will contest the Prix Imprudence on the same card.
Nemone Routh, manager for the Aga Khan Studs in France, said: “If all goes to plan, Samangan and Valasara will come out in the Prix Djebel and the Prix Imprudence.
“They are similar horses in that they were sprinting last year and I think the idea is to find out whether they can get the straight seven furlongs at Deauville, as if they stay the seven well then we could have the possibility to try them in the Guineas.
“They’ve got to get through that initial test. On pedigree you’d have a little bit more hope that Samangan will stay. Valasara’s dam (Valdaya) was a six-furlong horse, a daughter of Acclamation and by Hello Youmzain who was a sprinter as well, so it might be a little bit more of a stretch for her.
“They’re both in great form and we’ll see where we go after Deauville.”
The Aga Khan team and trainer Francis-Henri Graffard have a second entry for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in Rayif.
The Sea The Moon colt signed off his two-year-old year by finishing third behind Aidan O’Brien’s Puerto Rico as a hot favourite for the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and he appears more likely to sidestep a trip to Headquarters in favour of a tilt at the French 2000 Guineas at ParisLongchamp the following weekend.
“Rayif will run in the Prix du Fontainebleau (April 12), which is the prep for the Poule d’Essai (des Poulains),” Routh added.
“He did well on the straight course at Deauville as a two-year-old, so he acts on a straight course well and he’s a very balanced, well made horse.
“I would say they’re all possibilities (for Newmarket), but if the Prix du Fontainebleau goes well for Rayif then he would be more likely for the French Guineas I would have thought.
“We’ve also got Narissa, who wasn’t entered for Newmarket but she will be running in the Prix de la Grotte (April 12) with a view to running in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) afterwards, but they’ve all got to run well in their preps first before we see about where they go afterwards.”
