Saint-Cloud 3YO Maidens - 20th March

Another day in France, another set of exciting 3-year-olds to watch on their debuts, this time at Saint-Cloud. If you found Darraf, the winner of the Prix Suave Dancer at a PMU price of 50, well done. If you thought he was still going to win after opening couple of furlongs, I congratulate you. This was one of the more remarkable maiden winners that I have seen in France. He was keen, he pulled too hard, he was drawn wide and raced without cover, he hung to his left in the final furlong, yet still held on. If you have a few minutes spare today, it's worth watching this race back, both for the remarkable performance of the winner and the eye-catchers that chased him home. Here are my notes on the debutantes races at Saint-Cloud on Thursday;

Winner	Time	Réduction KM	Final 3-Furlongs
Zarraf	130.33	65.16	35.45
Danara	129.22	64.61	36.95

PRIX SUAVE DANCER

Zarraf (Karkosa) had an SP of 50 PMU and took some finding. Zarak Colt. Dam 6-race maiden. Drawn wide and was very keen on the run to the first bend. Better once headed but still ran free. Traveled into the straight and found plenty when asked. Remarkable run given how free he was. Won despite hanging across the track in the final 100-yards. Wore a Tongue-tie.

Deralo (2nd). Gelded for debut. Persian King, dam a half-sister to Le Havre. Bred to stay. Broke well under Soumillon and controlled the pace in front. Had the rail and ran straight. Clocked 63.3 km/h (winner 63.9 km/h). Just beaten. Shapes like this trip will be a bare minimum.

Degotex (3rd). Further back than ideal. Sea the Moon x New Approach. Ran on strongly from mid-division, coming home in 35.26s to be beaten less than a length. Allure (5th) led at the 2-furlong pole. Kept on well under educational instructions. Bred to stay.

Croquis (5th) Pinatubo Colt. Grand-dam Miss France (1,000 Guineas winner 2014). Traveled nicely behind the pace and looked to be coming with a winning run before tiring in final furlong. May need to drop back to a mile?

Dolnimour (7th) was backed into 2.6 PMU for this debut for FH Graffard and the Aga Khan connections. Sat towards rear after slow start. Ridden turning in and did pass beaten horses, but hardly an eye-catcher.

PRIX MONADE

Danara sent off 2.7 PMU (Fav). Sea the Stars filly, half-sister to Dare to Dream. Benefitted from having a runaway leader to chase, but once pulled out for a run has stayed on best once in front. Through the Flames (2nd) had every chance, but Pouchin was keen to give her an education and only used his hands in the final furlong. Front 2 were clear of those they raced around.

Joury (3rd) was further back than ideal and had to come widest of all, but found plenty. Came home in 36.60s (best in field). Siyouni filly from a decent Galileo family. Cost €260k. Obvious horse to take from this.

Janah (4th) and Batik (5th) both had their chance but looked one paced in the closing stages and may need further than this.

Ketmie Queen (6th) wore both a hood and a tongue-tie for debut and was ridden accordingly. Made good late ground without getting on terms. Perhaps flattered by coming past beaten horses, but 36.88s for the final 3-furlongs was 2nd best in the field. Better than 76 PMU would suggest.