By Marcus Hersh

German racing restarted last week, which was cool, but England, Ireland, and France are the most important European racing jurisdictions, so Monday marks the return of major European flat racing with several cards across France. Easily the best of them is a 10-race program at Longchamp that includes three Group 3s, two of which are preps for the French 1000 and 2000 Guineas, and the Group 2 Prix d’Harcourt, which brings out Sotsass, third-place finisher in the 2019 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and until proven otherwise the leading older horse in France.

The card starts early, at 4:55 a.m. Eastern, with the first of the most noteworthy races, the Prix de Fontainebleau, set for 6:55. Two courses will be used, with all the later, more important races carded for the Grand Course. A rainy weekend left the Longchamp ground labeled “very soft” as of Sunday.

We’ll look a little closer at the three races that should be most meaningful for the rest of the French season.

Prix d’Harcourt

Sottsass obviously looms large over the 1 ¼-mile Prix d’Harcourt, a stepping-stone to the Group 1 Prix d’Isppahan later this month. The Peter Brant homebred emerged as France’s best 3-year-old of 2019, coming from relative obscurity to capture the Prix du Jockey Club, France’s Derby, and finishing a very good third in the Arc, which was contested over very soft ground.

Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget told overseas racing press that Sottsass is coming into the Harcourt in good shape, which is bad news for his seven rivals. Two, however, merit at least minor mention.

Four-year-old Shaman’s second half of 2019 turned out modestly, but he was a pretty good 3-year-old in the spring, and a return to a trip longer than one mile – the distance at which he made his final five starts last year – could boost his chances. Racing 1 1/8 miles at Longchamp last spring, Shaman went to the front in the first furlong and never was headed landing the Group 3 Prix la Force. Rockemperor, who now races in America for trainer Chad Brown and is a promising 4-year-old, finished second, and if Maxime Guyon takes Shaman to the front again Monday, he could last a long time.

Simona already has raced twice in 2020, getting in two starts before coronavirus halted racing across Europe. March 20, he won the Group 3 Prix Exbury going 1 ¼ miles over heavy ground and one would imagine Simona holds at least a mild fitness edge Monday.

Prix de Fontainebleau

Victor Ludorum deserves his odds-on favoritism in the Group 3 Prix de Fontainebleau, contested over one mile as a prep for the Group 1 Prix d’Essai des Poulains, a race for which Victor Ludorum also rates as the early favorite.

Trained by Andre Fabre for Godolphin, Victor Ludorum went three for three as a 2-year-old, moving up the class ladder from maiden win to listed-stakes victory to a season-ending tally in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere over this same one-mile trip at Longchamp in October. A homebred by the late Shamardal out of Antiquities, by Galileo, Victor Ludorum gave the appearance of an advance 2-year-old, both mentally and physically. He switched off kindly in his races and finished well all three times, never really coming close to tasting defeat.

Victor Ludorum’s most eye-catching performance came in his second start, the Prix des Aigles at Chantilly, where he overwhelmed his rivals with a powerful run about a quarter mile from the finish of this this straight-course mile. Retrospectively, the horses behind him that start have not worked out to be a strong group and adding to his superiority was Victor Ludorum’s comfortable stride over a good course at Chantilly.

At Longchamp, the Lagardere was contested over very soft ground, which Victor Ludorum seemed to tolerate more than enjoy. Again, he punched home smartly after stalking the pace and won by three quarters of a length over solid opposition. Fabre has spoken positively of his training for his 3-year-old debut and even over another soft course, Victor Ludorum is imposing.

Ecrivain finished fourth in the Lagerdere after getting a perfect trip, and the horse with an upset chance Monday is Helter Skelter, who finished fifth in the Lagardere but ran at worst the second-best race among seven runners. Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, Helter Skelter got in four starts at age 2 and performed well in all of them – well enough that he was sold privately following an easy listed-stakes win in August.

Helter Skelter, by Wootton Bassett, should have more room to improve at 3 than Victor Ludorum since he ceded maturity, both in physical development and in-race behavior, during 2019. Helter Skelter looks like the sort of horse who will always be light-framed but he was especially willowy last year, and in every one of his races, including the Lagardere, he threw his head up at least twice in the first furlong, trying to grab the bit and go. His comportment improved with racing but even in the Lagardere he pulled harder than ideal, and in taking his horse back and settling him into a relaxed rhythm, jockey Yutaka Take – riding the colt for the first time - wound up last behind a dawdling pace in the Lagardere. Helter Skelter got trapped slightly along the fence as the pace really began to quicken in upper stretch and he was unable to produce an immediate turn of foot once wheeled to the outside, but through the final furlong it was he finishing fastest; strides past the wire he was abreast of Victor Ludorum. Rouget told The Racing Post that Helter Skelter “has grown some over the winter” and at a much longer price than the favorite he could be worth a play.

Prix de la Grotte

Tropbeau and Khayzaraan are the clear antepost favorites for the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte, a prep for the Group 1 Prix d’Essai des Pouliches but both fillies have questions to answer Monday.

Fabre, Tropbeau’s trainer, said his horse might need her first start of the season for fitness as she is not an avid work horse and tends to carry weight. Tropbeau, by Showcasing out of Frangipanni, by Dansili, hansn’t raced beyond seven furlongs, and rather than stretch her to a mile late last year, Fabre cut her back to six furlongs for the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes, her 2-year-old finale.

Still, Tropbeau has easily the best form in the Prix de la Grotte, and can win even if she doesn’t truly want to race this far and will improve for the outing. She was third in the straight-course Cheveley Park but would’ve finished second had tiring race favorite Raffle Prize not drifted into her path with a half-furlong to race. If anything, the Cheveley Park looked shorter than Tropbeau’s best trip, and while she raced from last in England, she showed tactical speed in her French starts. Tropbeau beat a very nice filly, Marieta, winning the Group 2 Prix du Calvados in August and looked happy enough racing on very soft ground when much the best in the Group 3 Prix Six Perfections in July.

Kkayzaraan, by Kingman out of Rika, by Dubawi, has an elite pedigree and an imposing physical presence, and after a troubled ninth going a straight six furlongs in her career debut, she scored visually impressive one-mile wins at Deauville and Chantilly to complete her 2-year-old season. Khayzaraan has speed and simply overwhelmed her opposition finding another gear before the late runners even had begun to start their moves, but caution is advised. Part of what made Khayzaraan look so sharp was the very soft competition behind her, and both starts came on good ground that might best suit her talent.

Beyond the top two, there are several fillies with encouraging soft-turf performances, including Dream and Do, who won the last three starts of her 2-year-old season, including the Group 3 Prix Miesque over heavy going at Maisons-Laffitte.