Clive Cox is hoping Harry Three makes a name for himself in the Prix Maurice De Gheest at Deauville.
The latest sprinter to ascend towards the top from his stable has his credentials tested in Sunday's Group 1. British raiders stamped their authority on the race in recent years, winning five out of the last eight renewals.
The trainer came closest to adding his name to the roll of honour when Lethal Force finished runner-up in 2013. Winner Moonlight Cloud raced to a hat-trick, a sequence matched by Harry Three at a lower level this season.
But he gained some vital course experience recording an easy score in a Listed contest on July 10.
"It's a huge step to take, but the horse is going there full of confidence," said Lambourn-based Cox, who masterminded the career of the world's top sprinter in 2017, Harry Angel.
"He's going in the right direction on the track and at home. I think he will put in a good performance."
Harry Three, a half-brother to Group 3-placed Diligent Harry, is 7-1 with Coral. The bookies make Charlie Appleby's Naval Crown and Sense Of Duty, from William Haggas' stable, their 4-1 joint favourites.
“There has been plenty of British success in this race over the years, and with no French-trained runners shorter than 20-1 for Sunday’s race, it’s long odds on that this Deauville Group 1 will once again be heading back across the channel,” said spokesman David Stevens.
While Cox is happy with the warm weather in France for his runner, fellow trainer Hugo Palmer is yet to commit Brad The Brief to the six-and-a-half-furlong event.
All of the five-year-old's wins in the higher grades have come on ground with give in it. New warnings for extreme heat have been issued on the continent and although forecasters predict cooler temperatures in Normandy, the racing surface is expected to quicken.
"I'm going to have to find a French friend to walk the track for me at some stage this week," Palmer said.
"He is rated 117 and only 1lb off (Godolphin's Jersey Stakes winner) Noble Truth, who is rated 118. So it is quite hard not to run in a race that I think will really suit him."
