Mekong heads for Saint-Cloud Mekong River puts his four-race unbeaten record on the line when he tackles Group One opposition in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud at the Paris course on Saturday. The Aidan O'Brien-trained son of Galileo led all the way to beat Achnaha by six and a half lengths in a Listed contest at Leopardstown last weekend to earn his place in the field. Seamie Heffernan, who rode him that day, will again be in the plate. Among the opposition is the Clive Cox-trained Shankly, who created a big impression when making a winning debut at Salisbury two months ago. The Lambourn handler said: "He was impressive on his debut and he's a horse that has taken a bit of time. This is a big step up, but we think enough of him, hence the reason he's in here. He's travelled over well and I'm pretty hopeful he will deal with the testing conditions. "He's always had a lot of scope and a big frame to fill. He has thrived in his training this last month, so that's why we're running him." Accompanying Shankly on the French raid are fellow British-trained runners Hartnell and Laugharne. Mark Johnston's Hartnell had little more than an exercise canter when trotting up by 10 lengths at Newmarket last weekend, while Laugharne from Roger Charlton's stable looked a useful prospect when winning at Goodwood on his second start four weeks ago. Among the home team in a 12-strong field are the Freddie Head-trained Free Port Lux, successful on his debut at Longchamp last month, Elie Lellouche's Dylan Boy and Prince Gibraltar from Jean-Claude Rouget's stable.
