Beheshtam tries to find extra gear in Grand Prix.

Byline: James Willoughby 

THE real French Derby is run tonight. Since the Prix du JockeyClub was dropped to a mile and a quarter, it has served to obscure the merits of brilliant horses like Hurricane Run and Montmartre.

If the motivation was modernity, it has been a revolution less successful than some in French history. But it is very much to the advantage of the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris over the mile and a half that is the proper test of a Derby horse on grass.

Talking of revolutions, the Grand Prix is run today because July 14 is Bastille Day in France. The question is: would the brave citizens of 1789 have been so emboldened had they known what their republic would eventually do to the French Derby? Mais non.

Either way, the Grand Prix de Paris serves as a useful substitute. And what an interesting race it promises to be, with three highly promising local types up against four from Ballydoyle.

Jockey Club also-rans Beheshtam and Wajir are out to show they were square pegs shoved into the round hole of the Jockey-Club nouveau. The Aga Khan's Beheshtam doesn't exactly cut the same figure as Montmartre when you watch him on film, but there is no denying that his fourth to Le Havre at Chantilly was a grand effort.

Moreover, he turned for home with only a couple behind him and ran on really well all the way to the line, though his effort appeared to be flagging close home. The son of Peintre Celebre comes from one of the Aga's stoutest families, tracing back to the top-class Behera, who was third to Carroll House in the 1989 Arc (it may also interest a few to see Henry Daly's staying hurdler Behrajan among Beheshtam's relatives).

Beheshtam went to the Jockey-Club short of experience, having just two wins from two starts. There is no doubt he is capable of improvement, although it remains to be seen whether he should be a raging hot favourite here.

The hefty Wajir looked a nice horse when he got home narrowly in the Group 2 Hocquart in May. That impression was not confirmed over a slightly shorter trip at Chantilly, however, where he looked something of a high-class plodder and also hung a bit.

PERHAPS the most intriguing of the three local musketeers is Cavalryman, who is another fine-looking horse. His action was unsuited to the soft terrain when second to stablemate Cutlass Bay in the Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud in May. But he exploded in a Listed race at the same track next time, suggesting he could be a serious player under today's conditions.

Aidan O'Brien's four are familiar names who appear below top class. Hail Caesar is the pacemaker, and a good gallop will certainly suit Age Of Aquarius and Black Bear Island, but not necessarily Freemantle.

Age Of Aquarius, the Lingfield Derby Trial winner, was the subject of one or two whispers before the Derby, in which he ran well for a long way. He couldn't quicken in the straight, but he clung on grimly and was less than nine lengths behind Sea The Stars in seventh.

Black Bear Island beat Freemantle narrowly in the Dante, appearing to get stronger the further he went. He too was vanquished in the Derby, and a one-paced third to Father Time at Royal Ascot was hardly a revelation.

The remaining runner is Godolphin's Mastery, the Italian Derby winner. His status as a Classic winner was undermined by the fact that he was sent for the Queen's Vase afterwards, and his defeat there was not encouraging. Watch James Willoughby's review of the July festival on RPTV, on racingpost.com

The contenders Alain de Royer-Dupre, trainer of Beheshtam "Running over a longer distance will definitely suit him, but we will have to see. He was only fourth in the French Derby, so it is difficult to know quite how good he is, but that was only his third run and he is still improving. The ground is going to be good to firm, I think, because we have had no rain in France, and it could be a little bit too firm for him. If the ground is too firm we will have to decide whether to run when we get there. The Arc is possible, but we'll have to wait and see." John Ferguson, racing manager to Sheikh Mohammed's Darley operation, owner of Cavalryman "He won his Listed race really well and Andre [Fabre] feels he deserves his chance at this level. We look forward to seeing how he runs. The step up in distance should not be a problem, and nor should the ground." Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Freemantle, Age Of Aquarius, Black Bear Island and Hail Caesar "Freemantle found the pace a little fast in his last race and he also got trapped a little for room. He will like the drying ground. Age Of Aquarius is in good form and we have given him time since the Derby. We have been targeting this race since then and I am very happy with him. He wouldn't want the ground too soft. Black Bear Island ran a good race at Ascot and we think he has improved since then. He's in good order and we're hopeful of a good race. Hail Caesar won his last start very impressively and wore first-time blinkers that day. He wears them again for this race and he's been working really well and I am pleased with him."

Elie Lellouche, trainer of Wajir "Although he is running over this distance for the first time, he has already won over 11 furlongs and will be even better over a mile and a half. He has come back well from the Jockey-Club and will not be inconvenienced by the ground."

Saeed Bin Suroor, trainer of Mastery "Mastery was a little disappointing at Royal Ascot and I think that dropping down to a mile and a half will suit him well as he did not stay the distance."

CAPTION(S):

Age Of Aquarius: one of four runners for Aidan O'Brien