Coachello is the star turn under the lights this evening at Deauville and is expected by many to strip fitter for his return to action last month, priced at 10/11f.
With 4kg in hand of the next best rated, Entei, you can see why the trainers in opposition have all been telling the Paris Turf that they would be delighted with a place.
I am probably one of very few people that thought Coachello‘s return to action was disappointing. He raced very keenly, pulling himself to the front with three furlongs to go, and then folded tamely behind two horses from an out-of-form yard, one who was at ‘75%’ and the other was the 43-rated Bouttemont who also carried a 2kg penalty. His Arc weekend sale to the US for €270,000 was aborted, which may explain why he was rusty, but his trainer Romain Le Dren Doleuze had described the Chantilly race earlier in November as a superb target.
Coachello is reported to have equine piroplasmosis (EP) which is a tick-borne disease that affects horses. It’s clearly a returnable condition and even if it has had the slightest impact on his racing ability, then it really is all to play for tonight.
With two legitimate 100-1 shots in here, we have a brilliant opportunity to hunt for an each-way selection amongst Coachello’s five other opponents.
Entei has been gelded and has not seen the track since June. I’d be against him at 10-1, let alone 5-1.
The Niarchos-owned Transcendental is the only filly in the field with a chance but she is beginning to look tripless. She has some form on this surface but has already been well-found in the market at 3-1. Trainer Philippe Sogorb tends to do better at the beginning of the year and he has had just one winner from 20 runners in the Paris/Deauville regions since July.
Fayathann looks a knocking bet this evening and this Italian 2000 Guineas winner will be hard to get out the first three. A winner at both Wolves and Lingfield earlier this year, he got a bit lost this summer on softer ground in warmer company, but his fifth in a Deauville Quinté last month reads very well.
Perhaps he does not have enough in hand off a mark of 42 to land a Quinté, but he still has the confidence of his trainer Gianluca Bietolini and his yard is really firing. Eight of his 16 runners this month have run first or second and Theo Bachelot is the best in the business, especially with other star jockeys now having left France for their winter breaks.
He was drawn in the carpark last time and his effort can be marked up significantly. The second, Mowaeva, did the form no harm yesterday in winning the Quinté over this same C&D.
7.15pm Deauville – 2pt each-way Fayathann @ 6-1 (various, or 7-1 with bet365)
