Brametot, Eminent and Fabre's fab four lock horns in thriller

3.45 Deauville
Prix Guillaume d'Ornano Haras du Logis Saint-Germain (Group 2) | 1m2f, 3yo | ATR

France's 2,000 Guineas and Derby are already on Brametot's roll of honour but it is the greatest of all French races that surely sits highest on the agenda of a winning machine who now goes on trial for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Deauville.

The Normandy venue has been the scene for three of Brametot's six victories, most notably the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. He heads back seeking to take his impressive record to seven triumphs from eight starts in a quality Prix Guillaume d'Ornano.

The Haras du Logis Saint-Germain-backed event is enormously valuable for a Group 2, boasting just over £340,000 in prize-money, but it has attracted a field worthy of the cash.

Chief attraction is Cristian Demuro's mount, who took both the Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club by just a short head, yet while giving the clear impression even better is to come. Odds of no more than 8-1 for the Arc suggest others think the same.

A gallop with illustrious teammate Almanzor has teed up Brametot for this test, which connections see as part of his journey to Chantilly on October 1.

"After the Jockey Club he had a little break – in order to get them to the Arc in top shape you have to operate like that," said Rouget.

"It wasn't ideal having to gallop him with Almanzor last week while trying not to overdo it for either of them. That's why they didn't go toe-to-toe and instead Brametot came through late. It was a convincing piece of work."

Meade hoping to see better from Eminent

Ratings suggest Eminent's last two runs have been the best of his life, yet they have failed to yield the outcomes expected by trainer Martyn Meade, who now views his stable star's Deauville mission as a learning exercise.

From finishing a close-up fourth in the Derby when ridden by Jim Crowley, the Craven Stakes winner went to Sandown, where he pulled hard under Silvestre de Sousa through the early stages of the Eclipse before at times racing with an awkward head carriage up the straight, passing the post in fifth.

Ryan Moore takes over, with Meade's expectations focused much more on an encouraging display than a win.

Martyn Meade hopes to see a more encouraging performance from EminentCredit: Edward Whitaker

"The idea of coming to this race was to drop him in class and get his confidence back, so it's a shame he's coming across Brametot," said Meade.

"At Sandown it became very difficult as he didn't settle, but it also transpired what we thought was a good draw was actually a terrible draw. This time if there's no pace we might have to make more use of him.

"The main hope is he has a nice run round. It would be great to win but if he can be placed, that would be good enough."

Meade added: "Ascot is the obvious target later on, although if he was breathtaking here we could think about the Arc. Either way, this race should guide us as to where we go."

Eclipse eighth Salouen doubles the British challenge, with Sylvester Kirk having booked Maxime Guyon to ride.

Fabre's fab four bid to turn 11 into 12

On Sunday Andre Fabre saddled both first and second in the Prix Jacques le Marois, and while a first, second, third and fourth in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano is probably unrealistic, the most successful trainer in the contest's history has a fair chance of adding to his haul.

Andre Fabre has sent out 11 winners of the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano

Of the quartet, Avilius and Soleil Marin represent Godolphin, while Mask Of Time must step up considerably on a recent Deauville Listed fifth.

However, it is Last Kingdom, seeking a four-timer under Silvestre de Sousa, who most interests Fabre for a prize he took for the 11th time when New Bay scored two years ago.

"The one I'm looking forward to most is Last Kingdom," said Fabre.

"He's a progressive horse and has done well recently. He's a Group winner and has good acceleration. The soft ground will suit him as well. We'll see in this race if he might be a Group 1 horse."

Laffon-Parias confident about Recoletos

At Chantilly on Derby day Recoletos led halfway up the home straight, only to have Classic glory snatched from him when Waldgeist and then Brametot swept by inside the final 50 yards.

He returns to action under Olivier Peslier, with trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias sounding rather hopeful of exacting revenge on Brametot.

"He's in good form and I'm confident," said Laffon-Parias.

"He was drawn badly in the Jockey Club and in an ideal world we'd have kept him covered up a little longer. I hope we get a good pace and he gets the chance to use his finishing speed."