Laurent Barbarin

Published 9.07 - all selections online

Deauville stages its first Group 1 of the summer this Sunday in the Prix Jean Prat, a prestigious contest for three-year-olds over the straight 7f course and the highlight of their eight-race card - live on Sky Sports Racing.

My first selection comes in the fourth race (14:50) on the card, a 1m 1½f handicap for horses aged four and older on the fibresand track. I like the profile of CORONADO here, a five-year-old gelding who has won four of his 33 career starts.

Significantly, all four of those victories have come on fibresand, including two over today's course and distance. The son of Toronado ended a lengthy losing streak when scoring in a similar handicap at Chantilly in February, over the same distance as today's race, before producing five unplaced efforts.

However, his last two runs suggest he is returning to form, most notably at ParisLongchamp earlier this month, where he endured a far-from-ideal trip. Drawn wide - as he is again today - he was forced to make an early move on the outside and take the lead in the downhill part of the track. He was still only caught in the closing stages to finish a courageous second, but with a more patient ride he may well have held on to win.

Under today's conditions, Coronado races off a mark 4lb lower than when he last won. Trained locally in Deauville and supplemented for this race, he looks to have a solid winning chance.

The feature race is the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat (15:25), which has attracted a field of eight runners, including two Classic winners. Despite True Love, who landed the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in early May, being in the line-up, RAYIF is my preferred choice.

The son of Sea The Moon made a winning return in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, with that being his only start of 2026 so far. He prevailed that day at ParisLongchamp on ground officially described as very soft - a surface far from ideal for him. Given a perfectly judged ride by Mickael Barzalona on that occasion, he managed to get the better of Komorebi, Hankelow and Nighttime, with the latter finishing sixth - around three lengths behind Francis-Henri Graffard's colt.

That victory took Rayif's record to three wins from just four career starts. He won both of his first two outings as a juvenile on Deauville's straight course; first in a newcomers' race in early July 2025 on good ground before following up in the Group 3 Prix François Boutin over today's course and distance last August, on slightly easier going.

His trainer has always maintained that Rayif is at his best on a sound surface, making his Classic success on testing ground an even more remarkable performance. After missing the St James's Palace Stakes because of a minor infection on the eve of the race, he arrives here fresh and returns to the fast ground that should play perfectly to his strengths.

While True Love clearly sets the standard on form and is obviously the principal danger, history is not on the side of fillies in this race. Since the Prix Jean Prat was promoted to Group 1 status in 1985, only one filly has managed to win it, with that being Tenebrism in 2022 - who also trained by Aidan O'Brien.

My next column will be on Tuesday 14th July for Group 1 action from ParisLongchamp, a meeting shown live on Sky Sports Racing.