Wootton, Olmedo rematched

U S Navy Flag won the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes last fall but he’s a general 10-1 chance Sunday at Longchamp in the Group 1, $717,4000 Prix d’Essai des Poulains, the French 2000 Guineas. U S Navy Flag finished a flat fourth in his 3-year-old debut, and antepost bettors are more taken with a trio of French colts, Wootton, Olmedo, and Dice Roll.

When Wootton beat Olmedo by a head April 15 at Longchamp in the Prix de Fontainebleau, a prep for Sunday’s race, the pair finished 3 1/2 lengths clear of their nearest rival, and fourth-place Rostropovich returned to win the listed Dee Stakes by almost four lengths Thursday in England. Moreover, the top pair finished with a real flourish, both giving the appearance of elite colts, and Wootton particularly brims with upside.

Trained by Henri-Alex Pantall for Godolphin, Wootton won a pair of starts by wide margins at age 2 and handled the considerable class hike up to Group 3 competition in the Fontainebleau. Wootton, the mount of Mickael Barzalona, has pace to lead but settled well in the Fontainebleau and kicked back gamely after Olmedo headed him in the final quarter-mile.

Olmedo, who will be ridden by Cristian Demuro for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, was a more advanced 2-year-old than Wootton, easily winning his debut, finishing second in a Group 3 second out, and capping his campaign with a second to the filly Happily in the Group 1 Grand Criterium. The Fontainebleau was contested on heavy ground, but there’s a good chance both horses handle the good-to-soft going Sunday at Longchamp.

Dice Roll finished a onepaced fourth in his second career start last year but has won his four other races, including a decisive score in the Group 3 Prix Djebel at Deauville to start his 3-yearold season. As for U S Navy Flag, he failed a dirt test in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall, finishing 10th after his Dewhurst win, and he never picked it up when beaten 15 lengths by Gustav Klimt on April 14 at Leopardstown in the 2000 Guineas Trial Stakes. The poor showing was put down to heavy ground, but there’s also the chance U S Navy Flag was a superior 2-year-old who has failed to come forward at age 3.

Post time for the 2000 Guineas is 9:35 a.m. Eastern, while the Group 1, $598,000 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, the French 1000 Guineas, goes off about 40 minutes later.

There are 14 3-year-old fillies in the Pouliches, a race in which the pecking order appears more ill-defined than the Poulains. Polydream makes her first start of 2018 for the Wertheimer brothers and trainer Freddie Head, and her 2-yearold campaign, ending with a fine second in the Group 1 Marcel Boussac, marks her as a contender.

Musis Amica got in one quiet run last November, winning a maiden race for Godolphin and trainer Andre Fabre, and returned April 15 to win the Prix de la Grotte, the local Pouliches prep. Musis Amica looks very capable, while Wind Chimes, the 2-1 favorite in the de la Grotte, will have to improve markedly on her fifthplace finish there to have a chance Sunday.