Pale Mimosa© Photo Healy Racing
Pale Mimosa will be ridden by William Buick for the first time when she represents Dermot Weld in the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp on Sunday.
Winner of the Lonsdale Cup at York in August, the mare was beaten into third place behind the reopposing High Jinx in the Prix du Cadran last time.
Weld won the Royal-Oak in 2001 with legendary stayer Vinnie Roe and Buick is delighted to have been called up for the ride.
He wrote in his At The Races blog: "When a trainer of his stature asks for your services it doesn't look bad on your CV. I hope I can repay his faith and will be having a word with Pat Smullen, who's been on her for all 12 career starts.
"It seems to me that she's very straightforward but that she was caught out by the extreme trip in the Prix du Cadran last time when she was beaten a length by High Jinx.
"This mile and seven should be fine and if she's back to where she was when she beat Estimate half a length in the Lonsdale Cup over two miles at Doncaster in August, then she'll be right in this. I just hope the ground isn't too testing."
Marco Botti is confident Tac De Boistron is close to peak fitness as he returns from a six-month break to defend his crown in the race.
The seven-year-old ran out an impressive winner of the two-mile Group One in 2013 and made a scintillating seasonal return in Ascot's Sagaro Stakes at the end of April.
Botti's charge was only narrowly denied in the following month's Yorkshire Cup, but was ruled out of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and a summer campaign after suffering an injury.
The Italian-born trainer has slowly nursed his star stayer back to full health and is expecting a bold show on his return to Paris.
"He had a fall earlier in the year and bruised his ribs, which can be very painful. We had to stop with him and give him plenty of time to recover," said Botti.
"We had to push him a little bit harder than normal to get him ready for this weekend, but he's an older horse, he has taken his work well and I'm very pleased with him.
"As it worked out, we would not have run him much this summer anyway because the ground would have been against him.
"He seems happy and in good form, his fitness is nearly 100 per cent and the ground should suit him on Sunday, so we are looking forward to the race."
