There will be revenge in the air on Sunday for the 2175m Gr.1 Prix de L’Ile-De-France. Eight of the ten runners met in the 2700m Prix de Cornulier a fortnight back and the shorter trip will separate the wheat from the chaff.

Idéale Du Chêne represents a solid base; her form has been very hard to fault this winter and in the absence of Cornulier winner, Esperanza Idole, she and Hirondelle Du Rib will be more in focus this time around. Julien Le Mer’s mare put in a remarkable finish a fortnight ago and some believe she could have won had she begun her charge earlier.

Hirondelle Du Rib finished just ahead in second that day, at 69/1, after putting in a sterling effort under apprentice Noé Perron who appeared to have the race won half-way up the straight. On Sunday, she will be reunited with regular partner Jean-Loïc Claude Dersoir.

And Flamme Du Goutier, twice a Cornulier winner and fifth in the recent edition, she is still competitive aged nine (after all, it was a ten year-old that won that day) and was successful in this race in 2021. Eighth in the Cornulier, she finished runner-up in 2022 before securing third 12 months on. There still remains a question-mark over her form though.

Well-supported a fortnight back, Hanna Des Molles was below-par that day, giving up too early for a horse of her calibre. Two weeks is not a long time and, while unlikely to win, as she did in 2023, she can still get back in the game. One to note is Laurent-Claude Abrivard’s second runner, Inshore, who won a Gr.2 smartly on his only start over 2175m on the main track.