Avec Toi impresses in Saint-Cloud maiden, earns Rising Star nod

Avec Toi did more than win a Saint-Cloud maiden. He took the Prix Chapeau Rouge in front-running style, put four lengths between himself and the field on soft ground, and earned TDN Rising Star status in a race that has already produced horses such as Zulu Kingdom, Alcantor and Arapaho.

The No Nay Never colt, sent off the 11/5 favorite in a field of 11, covered 7 furlongs, 1400 meters, in 1m 30.41s with Maxime Guyon aboard. He made all, was ridden along when clear 2 furlongs out, then kept widening the gap before being eased close home. Ciceron chased him home in second, while Prince Azur and San Giorgio dead-heated for third.

That level of authority matters because the Prix Chapeau Rouge has become a useful early marker for juvenile quality in France. Avec Toi did not scrape through on debut or rely on a messy finish; he showed the kind of pace, balance and turn of foot that form students look for when trying to separate a routine maiden winner from a colt with stakes potential. In a race restricted to unraced 2-year-olds, he looked every inch a horse already above the ordinary.

Pedigree adds another layer. Avec Toi is a Kentucky-bred colt and the second of three foals out of La Joconde, a Group 1-placed filly in the Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Vermeille. His family also ties him to Irish Derby winner Santiago and Group 3 scorer Grosvenor Square, with further links to Motamarris, Riqa, Saraaba, Tantheem, Monumental and eventually Dubai Turf hero Facteur Cheval. The colt is the 14th Rising Star for sire No Nay Never, and the owners listed were Mrs. J. Magnier, M. Tabor, D. Smith and Westerberg, with Orpendale, Chelston, Wynatt & Westerberg credited as breeder.

For Christopher Head, it was a milestone as well. He said Avec Toi was his first 2-year-old winner of the year and signaled that the colt would stay at seven furlongs for now, with a possible Saint-Cloud return at the end of June before stronger targets later in the summer. At The Races mapped out a longer route that could take in the July 4 Prix Roland de Chambure, the August 16 Prix François Boutin, the September 6 Prix la Rochette and the October 4 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. For Coolmore, it was the first success with Head, and for everyone tracking French juveniles, it was the kind of debut that can shift a colt quickly from maiden winner to Group-race candidate.