Tuesday sees a Group 1 treat from France as Longchamp stages the 2026 edition of the Grand Prix de Paris on Tuesday afternoon. This valuable contest has more in common with the Epsom Derby than the Prix du Jockey Club (widely referred to as the French Derby). Restricted to three-year-olds, the race takes place over the same 1m4f trip as the English event, rather than the 1m2f of the French Debry at Chantilly.
Held over a month after the Epsom Derby, the Grand Prix de Paris is nicely positioned to attract runners from the British Classic. However, in the modern era, horses rarely attempt to complete the double, with the Irish Derby at the Curragh a more common target for the Epsom hero. Such has been the case in 2026, with Epsom Derby winner Christmas Day losing out to his Aidan O’Brien-trained stablemate Benvenuto Cellini in the Irish event. While the Derby winner once again skips the Grand Prix de Paris, the race looks set to be graced by the William Haggas-trained runner-up.
Maltese to Cross the Channel for Group 1 Success
With nine Group 1 wins on French soil, William Haggas is no stranger to success in France’s biggest events. However, he has yet to land this contest, albeit from relatively few attempts. Not one to waste an overseas entry, Haggas only tends to travel with runners with solid claims – his most recent runner in the Grand Prix de Paris, Alenquer, finished a highly respectable third behind Hurricane Lane in the 2021 edition.
This year, Maltese Cross will attempt to hand Haggas a first win in the contest. Yet to finish outside the first two in five starts, this Sea The Stars colt booked his Derby ticket with a gutsy win in the Lingfield Derby Trial.
With soft conditions turning the Epsom Derby into a thorough test at the distance, Maltese Cross was among those to cope best in a stamina-sapping renewal. While unable to reel in Christmas Day, he ran a fine race to finish a clear second.
Mixed Messages from Derby Form
On paper, a second-place finish in the Epsom Derby suggests a horse should go very close in the Grand Prix de Paris, with the English contest usually a stronger event. However, the jury remains out on the 2026 edition, with the soft ground and subsequent exploits of the contenders suggesting that this wasn’t a vintage renewal.
All told, 11 of the 14 runners to line up at Epsom on 6 June have since returned to the track, with mixed results. Starting with the positives, Benvenuto Cellini ( who finished 10th in the Derby before being subsequently and controversially deemed a non-runner) bounced back to win the Irish Derby, with Christmas Day in second and Epsom seventh Pierre Bonnard in third. In the same race, Epsom third James J Braddock laboured to a 24-length sixth-place finish, one place ahead of Action, who finished 12th at Epsom.
Moving down the list of Derby runners, Bay Of Brilliance (4th) beat only one home in the German Derby, Adlerman (5th) finished last of five in the Group 3 Bahrain Stakes, Ancient Egypt (8th) finished a close second in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes, A Taste Of Glory (10th) was beaten in a Windsor handicap, and Balzac (11th) finished 14th of 16 in the Golden Gates Stakes.
Royal Ascot Winners Among the Likely Opposition
In addition to the best of the home team, Maltese Cross may need to fend off a strong Irish raiding party. With the clock ticking down to the big race, both Aidan O’Brien’s Causeway and Joseph O’Brien’s Limestone remain in contention.
Following a win in a Curragh maiden in his juvenile season, Causeway was pitched into handicap company on his first start at three. That’s not the usual route for a potential Group 1 star from the O’Brien yard, but this son of Wootton Bassett has done all that has been asked of him to date. Following a gutsy win in that Naas handicap, Causeway displayed admirable tenacity to win the Listed Tetrarch Stakes, Group 3 Gallinule Stakes, and Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. He hasn’t missed a rung on the ladder on his ascent through the ranks and has earned this crack at Group 1 company.
Limestone’s career has followed a similar path to that of Causeway. Sired by New Bay, who finished third over the Grand Prix de Paris course and distance in the 2015 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, he arrives on a four-race winning streak. Following low-key wins at Listowel and Cork, he stepped up to claim the Listed Yeats Stakes, before getting his nose in front on the line in the Queen’s Vase. This would represent a step down in trip from that 1m6f event at Royal Ascot, but, like Causeway, he is unlikely to go down without a fight.
The past four editions of the Grand Prix de Paris have been won by the home team, but with Haggas and the O’Brien clan expected to make the trip, the hosts will need to be at their best to make it five in a row.