French 2000 Guineas preview The impeccably-bred Zarak bids to follow in the hoofprints of his illustrious parents by claiming Classic glory in the French 2000 Guineas at Deauville on Sunday. Alain de Royer-Dupre's colt is by Dubawi and out of the magnificent Zarkava, who won the French 1000 Guineas, the French Oaks and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe during a stunning campaign in 2008. Zarak is the fourth of seven foals produced by the mighty mare, but the first to make the racecourse, and he has upheld family honour admirably thus far, winning on his debut at Deauville last autumn before making a successful return at Maisons-Laffitte in April. Georges Rimaud, stud manager for owner-breeder the Aga Khan, said: " He won his trial and I think he will have improved from it. "It is a good achievement for Zarkava, but it is about time! "There were some nice horses before Zarak, but unfortunately it is not always that simple. "The Galileo colt, Zarkar, was sold to stand at stud in Argentina and unfortunately Zarkash, by Sea The Stars, suffered an injury and we lost him. "Zarak is a good, sound horse and hopefully he continues to do well. "He has worked well since and everything looks good - all the lights are green." Zarak heads a 13-strong field that includes three challengers from Britain. The Simon Crisford-trained First Selection turns out just a fortnight after finishing seventh in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, while the in-form combination of John Gosden and Frankie Dettori is represented by the unbeaten Crazy Horse. Completing the trio is Richard Fahey's Godolphin runner Birchwood, who makes his first start since finishing a close third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf last October. John Ferguson, racing manager and chief executive for the owners, told www.godolphin.com: "Birchwood is a horse who has been pleasing Richard Fahey at home. "He took him to Newcastle for a racecourse gallop and he performed well. "He will be in a good place when he turns up for the Guineas on Sunday." The only Irish representative is runaway Navan scorer The Gurkha. Trainer Aidan O'Brien has saddled three previous winners of the French 2000 Guineas in Landseer (2002), Aussie Rules (2006) and Astronomer Royal (2007). He said of The Gurkha: " He's been in good form since he won and we thought this race would suit him, so we supplemented him for it." Another major contender for the home team is Jean-Claude Rouget's Zelzal, who has bolted up twice on the all-weather this spring. Harry Herbert, racing manager for the owners Al Shaqab Racing, said: " He has been immensely impressive so far and is a horse with a great turn of foot. "He's obviously never run on the turf before, so that will be something new, but I'm told the ground at Deauville is good and I think that will suit him. "He's a cracking son of Sea The Stars - a very neat and athletic horse - and Jean-Claude has been high on him for a long time. "The worry you would have is his lack of experience, but he's a very talented colt and hopefully he'll run well. "Whatever he does I'm sure he'll improve upon it." Rouget also runs Taareef and George Patton, while Andre Fabre relies upon Jimmy Two Times. Alignement, Attendu, Moon Trouble and Italian raider Dicton complete the line-up.
