2026 Chantilly French Derby Meeting Tips – DS
2026 Chantilly French Derby Meeting Tips
We only managed a solitary place on Saturday. Castle Stuart ran no race, our Beverley selections were disappointing, as was Suspended Sentence. Thankfully, Luna A Inbhir Nis ran a cracker to get third at 25s and hopefully you got your money back on Dark Cloud Rising who shortened into 12s but unseated exiting the stalls. We go again on Sunday, Dave Stevos’ 2026 Chantilly French Derby Meeting tips are below.
1.05 – Prix De Royaumont (Group 3)
The one I like here at a price is Temapica. Trained by Gerald Mosse, this daughter of Ectot has had just two runs. Sent off at odds of 51/1 on debut at Saint-Cloud back in March, she proved the oddsmakers spectacularly wrong and won that 1m2f newcomers race by a short head, beating a well-bred Graffard/Aga Khan filly into second.
In that race she was almost last 2f out but the penny dropped in the closing stages and she finished best of all to score rather snugly in the end. Mosse decided to keep her at 1m2f for her next start in a Listed heat at Toulouse and after getting outpaced, she again stayed on takingly in the closing stages.
She could only manage third but the further she went, the better she looked and she finished just 1.25l behind the winner Lapotheose, who hosed up in a Longchamp Group 2 on her next start. On the evidence of those two runs, she looks well worth stepping up in trip and even with just six runners, Temapica is worth backing each way at odds of 20/1.
2026 Chantilly French Derby Meeting Tip: Temapica e/w @ 20/1 NAP
1.40 – Prix De Chantilly (Group 2)
The legend Goliath, a 40/1 winner for us at Ascot a couple of years ago, makes his seasonal reappearance in this 1m4f Group 2. A dual G1 winner, he should win this if he is fit but he’s been beaten on his seasonal reappearances for the last two years and I’d imagine this is merely a stepping stone for him with regards to bigger assignments later in the season.
I was half-tempted to take him on with Oracle, who looks to be Andre Fabre’s second string, but just six run and odds of 10/1 are not big enough. No bet.
2026 Chantilly French Derby Meeting Tip: No bet
3.30 – Prix Du Jockey Club (French Derby) (Group 1)
The main event. Constitution River, a facile winner at Chester last time, is a warm order to give Aidan O’Brien his third win in the race and follow in the hoofsteps of Camille Pissaro, who won last year, and St Mark’s Basilica, who won it in 2021.
How strong is that Chester form? Not very, I would say, and the horse he beat into second on his previous start at the Curragh, Geryon, is no great shakes either. The fact Moore prefers him is interesting but for me, but he has a poor draw and his stablemate Hawk Mountain arguably has stronger credentials.
However, neither of those horses are big enough prices for us and hopefully, we can find one that might hit the frame at more rewarding odds.
Overpriced
The one that looks most overpriced to me is the Jean Claude Rouget trained Campacite. By Zarak, this colt has already proven he can mix it at G1 level. Last season, he was fourth in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp, finishing 4.75l behind the winner Puerto Rico.
On his next and final start of 2025, he stepped up to a mile in the G1 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud and this time, he finished second and closed the gap to Puerto Rico to just 1.75l, staying on well in the closing stages. Puerto Rico was next seen finishing a close fourth in the French 2000 Guineas, so it is solid form.
This season, Campacite has run twice. He made his seasonal reappearance in a 1m Longchamp G3 and while he could only manage a 2.75l fourth, he more than likely needed that run and the three horses that finished ahead of him were beaten 1l, 3l and 2.25l on their next starts in the French 2000 Guineas.
Up In Trip
Rouget stepped his son of Zarak up to 1m1f for the first time here in the G3 Prix De Guiche earlier this month and he ran a fine race under tender handling to finish 1.5l behind Hawk Mountain in third. His rider, Maxim Grandin, only gave him a couple of gentle taps with the persuader and while he wasn’t closing on Hawk Mountain (13/2 here) at the finish, he was maintaining the gap.
The step up to 1m2f could unlock further improvement from Campacite and another cause for optimism is the fact that he is trained by a man who has won this race on no less than six occasions. With four places on offer, Campacite is worth backing e/w at odds of 50/1.
