French Guineas winner Rayif aiming to bounce back at Deauville

French 2000 Guineas winner Rayif will get the opportunity to bounce back from Prix Jean Prat disappointment when he returns to Deauville for the Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques le Marois on Sunday.

Connections admit it has been “stop-start” campaign for the top-class colt, who won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains despite not having a prep run and subsequently missed a planned appearance in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot due a minor setback.

He finished only fifth on his return from two months off the track in the Prix Jean Prat, but with Bow Echo taken out of contention after his shock retirement earlier in the week, the weekend feature has a much more open look to it.

Nemone Routh, French racing manager and director for the Aga Khan Studs, said: “It was really disappointing to hear the news about Bow Echo. Obviously we sponsor the race and we were really excited to have him potentially running there as sponsors, even if we did have Rayif in the race.

“Rayif is in good form, we’re happy with him. He’s got good form at this track and won at this meeting last year as a two-year-old.

“He was caught behind a bit of a muddling pace last time out in the Jean Prat, they quickened from the front and he just got caught a bit for toe.”

She added: “We would hope to see a better run over a furlong further and also he’s got that run under his belt as he has had a little bit of a stop-start year. He missed his prep so he went straight to the Poule d’Essai and after that he was meant to go to Royal Ascot and we had to abort that because he got a very minor problem so he couldn’t travel.

“You’re constantly stopping and starting slightly and this is the first time he’s had a trouble-free prep all year really, so we’re hopeful. I think it’s a very open race and the Bow Echo news has probably meant people might take their chance when they might have avoided him before.

“The draw and where the pace is and all of that will count, but he’s a pretty straightforward horse and I think it’s quite important to have form on that track – you either handle the straight course at Deauville or you don’t and he’s shown that he can handle it.”

Rayif was one of 10 horses still in contention for the Marois following the latest entry stage on Thursday and he looks set to renew rivalry with the Prix Jean Prat winner Thesecretadversary.

The latter was initially set to wait for next weekend’s City of York Stakes, but in light of Bow Echo’s defection, trainer Fozzy Stack is now leaning towards a second successive trip across the Channel.

He said: “We can take him out again tomorrow if we want to, but we are leaning in the direction of France at the minute.”