Deauville ground key to Brad The Brief outing

Hugo Palmer is keen to unleash Brad The Brief in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on Sunday – providing the ground is not too quick.

The Chasemore Farm-owned five-year-old won six of 17 starts for Tom Dascombe before Palmer took the reins at Michael Owen’s Manor House Stables.

The gelded son of Dutch Art is on a hat-trick after a landing pair of six-furlong contests in his first two starts for Palmer – a conditions race at Haydock and in the Group Two Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh.

Though he has not run since May, his handler is itching to test him at the highest level, with the six-and-a-half-furlong Deauville contest pencilled in.

Palmer said: “I am very keen to run Brad The Brief in the Maurice de Gheest, but he won’t run on fast ground.

“I’m going to have to find a French friend to walk the track for me at some stage this week.

“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.

“They are calling it good to soft, and that’s probably English good (ground). We will have to watch this week.”