As I have previously discussed, I can't get the ratings model to work on the turf races in France. This is for a variety of reasons, primarily the lack of reliable information about rail movements, stalls positions and the general stands rail bias that exists on certain tracks. However, that isn't an issue with this Thursdays meeting at Deauville as the key races were run on the PSF course and the ratings for those races are below.
The first point to note is that the last race, won by Kenny, was an amateur riders contest and as a result the horses carried significantly more weight than usual. This probably explains the slow overall time too and I will certainly be treating that form with some caution next time. The race that I was most looking forward to was the 3-year-old Class 2 event and it didn't disappoint, with Andre Fabre's Make Me King building on his seasonal return from last month to score for the 2nd time. He made all the running and there is no doubt that he had the run of the race, but he ran a fast time of 1:21.99, just 0.48s outside the course standard and had the race won by maintaining a strong gallop throughout. His speed never dropped below 62km/h and in what looked to be a deep race on paper, he has managed to dominate the field with something in hand. Is he a Group horse? Well, he did place in Group 3 company as a Juvenile and after winning here his connections will surely be keen to go back up in class again. I think he is a solid performer at this level, but I would need to see further improvement (which after 5 starts is still possible) before I would be getting that excited. A rating of 94 for this effort suggests he is going the right way and he achieved the highest rating on the card, which can be upgraded due to the fact that he had to make his own running, so I won't be ruling him out when he goes up in class.
The feature race was won by Integrant who came with a sustained run to close down Eliyass and win this Class 1 event. The overall time and the ratings would suggest this was a slightly below average race but there is a reason t o upgrade the form of the winner. Eliyass came into this race having won his last 4 starts and he had the run of the race in front under Cristian Demuro. In a steadily run race with a finishing speed of 110.9%, Integrant did exceptionally well to make up the 5-lengths on the second in the home straight. His record on the PSF now stands at 5-3-1 and if the Devin team decide to campaign him on the artificial surfaces through the autumn, he should continue to make his mark at this level.
I've added one more horse to the tracker from the 3-year-old handicap, Zelzefyr. He is a 6-race maiden but this was a career best effort on what was his first start since March. Having been held up in rear, he made eye-catching late progress in a race that was dominated by those that raced on the pace. He was easily the fastest finisher from the 3-furlong pole to the line and ought to come on significantly for this run. With a more prominent ride next time, he should be more than capable of winning a similar race from his current handicap mark.
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