Electric Royal Ascot winners on course for tasty Prix Robert Papin clash

The strength of two of Royal Ascot's best juvenile races will come under scrutiny on Sunday with winners Nando Parrado and The Lir Jet set for an eagerly anticipated Prix Robert Papin scrap at Chantilly.

The pair were among four runners engaged in the race on Wednesday – Axdavali and Forever And A Day also remain – and despite the small field, the Darley-backed Group 2 ought not to lack in quality.

Given the shape of the race, Nando Parrado will be nowhere near the whopping 150-1 odds he was when winning the Coventry Stakes at the royal meeting, a victory that came 24 hours after The Lir Jet landed the Norfolk.

Clive Cox, who trains Nando Parrado for Marie McCartan, had also been contemplating the Prix Morny next month, but is eyeing another Robin Papin, which he won in 2012 with Reckless Abandon and again four years later with Tis Marvellous.

He said: "I think we could be going there. We've been happy with Nando and it was an open book. We didn't have any definitive conclusions, but he's pleased me in the last week and it will be four weeks since his run at Ascot.

"When I spoke about plans I was very open-minded, leaving the door open for this. It's six furlongs now, as opposed to five and a half when it was at Maisons-Laffitte, which means this comes on our radar – we wouldn't have been competing over five and a half."

Nando Parrado, who will be partnered by Adam Kirby, escapes a penalty for his Ascot success and Cox added: "That's always been an attraction of this race and why we've run in it, while it's a nice step from Ascot too.

"They're describing the ground as soft at the moment, but the forecast is for warm weather and I'd be hoping it's nice racing ground.

"He's been very good since his last run and I've been delighted with him. With The Lir Jet running it brings together the cream of the Ascot two-year-old form."

The Lir Jet: Oisin Murphy will ride againCredit: Edward Whitaker

The conditions of the Robert Papin also appeal to connections of The Lir Jet, who is owned by Qatar Racing.

"He's an intended runner and Oisin Murphy is going to ride him again," said trainer Michael Bell. "If he was to run in a Group 2 race in England, say the Richmond, he'd carry a penalty, so this is a logical step to run without a penalty and the extra distance will stand him in good stead.

"He worked well on Saturday under Oisin and appears in very good form, while he's won on fast and slow ground so conditions should not be an issue."

Another positive outcome for Cox?

The Lambourn-based Cox is also due to be involved in Chantilly's bill topper on Sunday as Alan Spence's Positive is engaged in the Group 1 Prix d'Ispahan, which is open to three-year-olds this year following the reprogramming of the Pattern because of Covid-19.

Positive won last season’s Solario Stakes by a nose from 2,000 Guineas hero Kameko and finished fourth in the St James’s Palace Stakes on his return to action a month ago.

"The story is very positive with him and this is what we're aiming for," said Cox. "He's come back well from Royal Ascot in what was a top Group 1.

St James's Palace Stakes result, replay and analysis

"He's pleased me since and I think the extra furlong – going up to nine from a mile – will be helpful with a view to going a mile and a quarter in time. We've always held him in high regard and hopefully he can achieve a Group 1.

"He was very straight at Ascot and it was a muddling race, but I'm not making excuses for him. The first three pulled well clear, but our best furlong was our last after being slightly tapped for toe entering the straight off that muddling pace.

"He's delighting me and we're looking forward to the weekend."

More to read:

How a holiday in Argentina inspired the breeding of Nando Parrado

Coventry hero Nando Parrado the biggest-priced Royal Ascot winner ever at 150-1

Sheikh Fahad swoops to buy record-breaking Norfolk Stakes hope The Lir Jet

Members can read the latest exclusive interviews, news analysis and comment available from 6pm daily on racingpost.com