The Group 2 Goffs Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly is set for a remarkably quiet starting gate today. At 12:58 local time, just three two-year-old horses will sprint for the prize. The field plummeted from 45 original entries down to a trio, leaving trainer Amy Murphy’s Tokaido to face a dual threat from Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien.
Tokaido enters the race seeking a fourth consecutive victory. Ridden by jockey Tony Piccone, the colt steps up to the six-furlong distance. The upcoming race anchors the final summer meeting at Chantilly, testing Tokaido following his comfortable Group 3 Prix du Bois win.
O’Brien provides the only opposition. His leading contender is King Of Cloughan, a son of St Mark’s Basilica who recently captured the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot. Pierre-Charles Boudot takes the ride on King Of Cloughan. O’Brien also saddles Beibhinn, coming off a third-place finish in the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes.
Trainer Amy Murphy expressed clear disappointment over the dramatic reduction in entries, outlining her long-term Breeders’ Cup ambitions for Tokaido. If he performs well today, his connections plan to target the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland this November.
A victory today would mark Murphy’s first Group 2 win in France since she relocated her training operation from Newmarket. The unexpectedly small turnout at Chantilly mirrors a specific recent trend in juvenile racing. It closely echoes the three-runner field seen at the Group 2 July Stakes at Newmarket earlier this month.