Karakontie Pleases Ahead of French Derby

French Guineas one-two finishers meet in second French classic June 1 at Chantilly.

French Two Thousand Guineas winner Karakontie will bid to add a second classic triumph to his record June 1 in the Prix du Jockey Club (Fr-I, French Derby) at Chantilly racecourse.

With his connections opting to run in France instead of the Epsom Derby (Eng-I) in a week's time, the Niarchos family's Japanese-bred son of Bernstein is to meet 15 challengers in the race unless the turf conditions come up heavy on race day.

Karakontie will break from post 11 with Stephane Pasquier. He comes in off a battling neck victory over Prestige Vendome in the Prix d'Essai des Poulains (Fr-I, French Two Thousand Guineas) May 11 at Longchamp.

Racing manager Alan Cooper told England's Press Association that the Jonathan Pease trainee is fit and ready to stretch out beyond a mile for the first time.

"The horse is in good shape. He did a nice piece of work on Monday (May 26) and both Jonathan and Stephane are very pleased with him."

Hard-trying French stakes winner Prestige Vendome, a son of Orpen who campaigns for a partnership that includes breeder Guy Pariente, is set to reoppose in the French Derby for trainer Nicolas Clement. He will bid for a breakthrough group victory from post 14 with Thiery Thulliez aboard.

Prix du Jockey Club (Fr-I, French Derby), 3YO, 2,100 meters (about 1 5/16 miles), turf

PP. NO. Horse, Jockey, Trainer

1. 14. Prestige Vendome, Thierry Thulliez, Nicolas Clement

2. 2. Shamkiyr, Christophe Soumillon, Alain de Royer-Dupre

3. 4. Aventador, Raphael Marchelli, Tony Castanheira

4. 6. The Grey Gatsby, Ryan Moore, Kevin Ryan

5. 8. Earnshaw, Maxime Guyon, Andre Fabre

6. 9. Prince Gibraltar, Gerald Mosse, Jean-Claude Rouget

7. 14. Nolohay, Paul Hanagan, Carlos Laffon-Parias

8. 11. Master's Spirit, Ioritz Mendizabal, Philippe Demercastel

9. 15. Karakontie, Stephane Pasquier, Jonathan Peace

10. 5. Mr Pommeroy, Fabrice Veron, Henri-Alex Pantall