My Cloud makes eagerly-awaited return at Deauville

My Cloud puts his growing reputation on the line when he heads to Deauville for the Barriere Prix Quincey on Saturday.

Roger Varian’s four-year-old made it four wins on the bounce when landing the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot. Held in the highest regard by connections, with an entry for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes later in the season, he faces the acid test of his big-race credentials in France.

“He’s a nice horse and a horse we’re very excited about moving forward through the autumn and also looking ahead to next year,” said Varian.

“It’s a Group Three and I’m delighted with how he’s training and looking forward to seeing how he gets on.”

Connections have had to remain patient since the son of Blue Point struck at the Royal meeting in June, but they are taking encouragement from some of the season’s other stars that My Cloud can take the required next step in his career.

Varian explained: “We never mind waiting if there is a reason to wait, you can’t get too frustrated and he’s a horse with a big future who will be very important for us – if we could have run since Ascot we would have done.

“I think he will take us to some nice races, he has a huge engine and we’ve seen the likes of More Thunder and Never So Brave start off in handicaps before moving on to bigger things this season.

“William Haggas’ horse (More Thunder) all but won the Wokingham and Andrew Balding’s (Never So Brave) won the Buckingham Palace at Royal Ascot and they have both gone on and proven themselves in Pattern company. Hopefully My Cloud can follow their lead, starting at Deauville on Saturday.”

Kevin Ryan’s Volterra, the Charlie Hills-trained Cicero’s Gift and David Menuisier’s Devil’s Point are other British-trained hopefuls in the Group Three event, while Menuisier will also be represented on the card by Sunway in the Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de Deauville.

The Group Two is also the next step for Henri-Francois Devin’s Derby fourth New Ground, who was last seen finishing third in the Grand Prix de Paris.

Barry Mahon, racing manager for owners Juddmonte, said: “It’s a nice opportunity, with not many runners. He’s been in Deauville for the last week and has settled into the environment well and seems to be enjoying himself.

“It’s a nice opportunity for him to stake his claim and tell us whether he’s ready for something big in the autumn or not. He’ll need to settle a bit better than he has on his last couple of starts and a small field in Deauville should give him an opportunity to do that.”

The other Pattern-race action on the card is the Group Three Barriere Prix de Meautry where Ed Walker’s Balmoral Lady and George Boughey’s Pontefract Listed Winner Rosy Affair represent the British raiders.