The video embedded above is the replay (via Equidia) from Orfevre's victory in the Group 2 Prix Foy at Longhcamp back on September 16th. Orfevre is at the back of the pack after leaving the starting gate with the red "X" on the black silks.
A couple of things I took away from Orfevre's Prix Foy victory:
- He was quite rank in the early stages, tossing his head frequently and fighting Christophe Soumillon fairly hard for around the first quarter mile.
- Once he settled down and got into a rhythm, you could clearly see why this colt has won everything in sight in Japan. He has big, bounding strides and appeared to be taking to the ground very nicely in his first try on a French course. The courses in Japan are more similar to those in North America than they are those in Europe, so it was good to see Orfevre adapt to a different going in his first race.
I got the impression from the replay that Orfevre could have gone to the front at any time and crushed this field. And even though he wasn't facing as field as deep as he will on Sunday, his rivals weren't a bunch of tomato cans. This is a seriously talented colt. - His move to the front of the pack in the straight was instant and definitive. Meandre closed the gap at the wire but Orfevre was never in danger of losing.
- Overall, it's not hard to see why this colt running a huge, huge race on Sunday. He appears to have enough tactical speed to keep him in the race during the early stages eliminating the chance that he'll have to make up significant ground on his top rivals in the stretch. I'm slightly concerned about his wide post position since that will probably preclude him from getting covered up early, but it looks like he's a horse that can run a good race in the clear even if he does get a tad headstrong out of the gate.