Manatee Bids For Chantilly Prize

Time/Date - 17.05hrs local time/Sunday, May 31, 2015
Racecourse/Country - Chantilly/France
Surface/Distance - Turf/1m 4f

Manatee steps back up to Group Two level for the Grand Prix de Chantilly over a mile and a half at Chantilly, France, on Sunday, May 31.

The four-year-old colt, trained by Andre Fabre and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, stayed on well in the final furlong to finish fourth on his first appearance of 2015 in the Group Three Prix d'Hedouville over the same trip at Longchamp on May 6.

He posted a cosy three quarters of a length success in the Group Two Prix du Conseil de Paris, also over a mile and a half at Longchamp, in October and was the ready winner of a Maisons-Laffitte conditions race over a mile and seven furlongs in September.

The son of Monsun finished runner-up in another conditions race over 13 furlongs at Chateaubriant earlier the same month and made a winning debut with a neck success in a 12-furlong newcomers' race at Chantilly in April, 2014.

Lisa-Jane Graffard of Godolphin commented: "Manatee has come on well since his first run of the season, which was a respectable performance considering he was carrying a penalty and the ground was very soft.

"We are expecting him to show some improvement and good ground should be fine."

Manatee takes on four rivals in the Grand Prix de Chantilly - last year's Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris runner-up Prince Gibraltar, German Group Two scorer Guardini, the 2014 winner Spiritjim and Ascot Listed victor Agent Murphy.