Dee Ex Bee in France mission

DEE EX BEE goes on a revenge mission to France today when he lines up for the Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp.

Not only will he try to gain Group One glory after finishing second in the Investec Derby, he will also bid to avenge the defeat of Permian in this race last year.

Trained by Mark Johnston, inset, Dee Ex Bee goes into the race on the back of a poor run in the Irish Derby but connections felt conditions were too quick for him.

With the ground expected to be more suitable in Paris, hopes are high Dee Ex Bee can gain bounce back.

Assistant trainer Charlie Johnston said: “He’s absolutely fine. Obviously after Ireland just two weeks ago this race comes fairly soon but once we saw the field starting to cut up, it looked too good an opportunity to miss. The horse came out of Ireland well and we’re looking forward to it.

“It will be interesting to see exactly what the ground is like when we get over there. They were telling us at declaration stage on Thursday it was good to soft, so they must have watered plenty. “He’s fine on top of the ground but when it gets very firm like it did in Ireland, that just doesn’t quite play to his strengths. As long as it’s good ground, we’ll be happy with that.”

Johnston sees the Aidan O’Brien-trained Kew Gardens, winner of the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot, as the main threat to Dee Ex Bee.

“We were beaten the shortest of short noses in the race last year when Permian got touched off. We are going back to get some revenge.”