The 185th Prix du Jockey Club is the highlight of a stellar 10-race card at Chantilly this Sunday – live on Sky Sports Racing – which also features four other Group races as well as two Listed contests.

The Listed Prix la Flèche (1.05pm) can serve as a stepping stone to the Prix Robert Papin, and potentially even the Prix Morny. André Fabre hasn’t won the race since 1997, while his last runner appeared back in 2011, but we’ll see if Focus can break this long drought for the master trainer. Still, I’d be more tempted to side with Karl Burke’s charge Super Soldier, who could well be a Royal Ascot prospect, so a fascinating race awaits!

The Group 3 Prix du Gros-Chêne (1.40pm) brings together some French handicap sprinters to take on the UK-trained, Group 1 winner Kind Of Blue. While Toyotomi looks the pick of the home team, James Fanshawe’s colt seemingly towers over the field and appears to be the banker on the card.

2.20pm – Prix de Sandringham

My first selection, however, comes in the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham, a race for three-year-old fillies over a mile. The names of the past three winners show that it takes a special filly to land this valuable prize, and Vadinska might just have the right profile to add her name to that list.

She was hugely impressive on her debut at Saint-Cloud in May, making her nine rivals look very slow in comparison. You can look at that victory two ways: either her opponents were below par or Vadinska is genuinely something special. The third and fourth-placed fillies from that race have both run again since, finishing fifth and fourth respectively in a 14-runner maiden at Dieppe last weekend. They’re no stars, but they’re certainly not slow.

Furthermore, Francis-Henri Graffard has run enough smart three-year-olds this season to know exactly where this daughter of Kodiac stands. This race seems the next logical step for her and there’s little reason to doubt her readiness. A short-enough starting price is expected, but confidence is high.

3.05pm – Qatar Prix du Jockey Club

With 18 runners set to line up, the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club is far from an easy race to assess. However, I’ve been tempted to side with Ridari, a son of Churchill trained by Mikel Delzangles.

Soundly beaten on debut at Saint-Cloud last October when making the running, he broke his maiden on his next start here on the fibresand, showing a sharp turn of foot in the process. He then returned to action in April to narrowly win the Group 3 Prix de Fontainebleau over a mile at ParisLongchamp, scoring by just a nose at the line.

His latest effort saw him run a very good race to finish fifth of 16 in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains three weeks ago, showing a notable improvement in both his attitude and maturity. Mickael Barzalona’s mount finished just behind the re-opposing Camille Pissarro (3rd) and Luther (4th) but clocked the fastest final two furlongs in the race, despite being slightly hampered in the closing stages, which possibly cost him third place.

This colt has progressed with every start, both physically and mentally. His temperament has taken a big step forward too this season, and according to his trainer he’s continued to improve since his last run. Delzangles also trained Ridari’s dam Ridasiyna, who delivered a career-best performance to land the Group 1 Prix de l’Opéra over a mile and a quarter in 2012. I don’t believe we’ve seen the best of Ridari yet, and this step up in trip could be just what he needs to unleash his full potential.

With such a large field on offer, it’s also worth taking an each-way swing on Al Aali at a big price, who caught the eye when finishing second behind Cualificar in the Group 3 Prix de Guiche at Chantilly, and comfortably clear of Curragh Camp in third. Al Aali recorded the fastest final three furlongs that day and appears to have been deliberately kept fresh for this race, and from an ideal draw in stall seven, I just can’t write him off.

It’s also worth mentioning Sinileo, a colt that has officially only ran once but in reality has had two starts, with his first coming in an unofficial Afasec race reserved for future apprentices. He’s trained by André Fabre and has been supplemented for the race, with Maxime Guyon opting to take the ride. He appears to be hugely talented, and if he wins despite his lack of experience then it will be because he is simply exceptional. Why not?

4.25pm – Grand Handicap de Chantilly

The seventh race on the card is the big handicap of the day, a contest for four-year-olds and upwards over a mile and a half. I like the profile of King Trezy here, who has had just the two runs so far this season.

He finished fourth of seven on his seasonal reappearance in a Class 3 at Longchamp in April, when clearly in need of the run, but showed significant progress last time out to finish runner-up in a similarly-competitive handicap at the same track, beaten three-quarters of a length by the re-opposing Back To Black. This time, however, the son of Le Havre is 3.5kg better off at the weights, which should be more than enough to see that form reversed, especially from an ideal draw in stall five, compared to Back To Black stuck out wide in stall 16.

The biggest danger could instead be Pay To Learn, who certainly has the form to win a race like this, though I wasn’t entirely convinced by his comeback run at Compiegne, where he drifted left under pressure. He’s likely to improve for that outing, but perhaps not enough to beat King Trezy of here.

5pm – Prix de Royaumont

My final selection of the day comes in the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont, a race for three-year-old fillies over an extended mile and a half. It looks like Sunly could be a very special filly judged on the manner in which she’s won her first two career starts, including a 1m 3f Listed contest at Longchamp in May, where she finished two and a half lengths clear of the re-opposing Konada.

The daughter of Night Of Thunder is out of a multiple Graded stakes-winning mare in the US, successful over trips ranging from 1m 2f to 1m 7f. Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard has admitted the filly took a while to come to herself this season, and even last time out she wasn’t quite there in terms of her coat and overall condition. She has reportedly improved physically since then, however, and could well turn into a very smart individual.

I’ll be very interested to see how she looks in the paddock before the race, but I’m confident she’ll appear better than she did ahead of her previous two wins. Hopefully she can follow in the footsteps of Aventure, who outclassed her rivals in this race 12 months ago.

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