Jacques Le Marois: Exploit shocking "unknown horse" bias at 25/1

Do you know what a sixpence was worth in old money?

You probably have to be of a certain age. Even the AntePoster (57 and counting) had to look it up to be absolutely sure. Prior to decimalization, six old pence was half a shilling or one-fortieth of a pound. Or 2.5p at face value when decimalisation came in (1971). Did you know that you could still use it as legal tender up until 1980?

Whatever.

Sunday's Jacques Le Marois wouldn't be a running of the race for the ages, in our view. A good field, no superstars. Bow Echo would have given the race that glitter, even last year's unlucky loser Notable Speech – such sizzling final sectionals, why on earth is he not back to avenge that defeat rather than heading to York where he underwhelmed last year? – would have put a cherry on this cake.

Instead we have a smattering of "decent" horses. Quite a few of them. Precise, More Thunder, Rayif, Zeus Olympios. Maybe Thesecretadversary (if he reroutes here from the previously intended York engagement). All worthy of consideration. More on the ones we like of that group on our youtube video to come in a couple of days' time.

But all other race entrants are quoted at 20/1 or more, which we find quite striking. And specifically, The AntePoster would have expected one other horse to be priced up in single figures. Indeed, when said horse was priced up by the Flutter pair of bookmakers at 16/1 The AntePoster licked his lips and dived straight in. Amazing price...or so he thought.

Or actually not, as it happens. The "outsider" in question has since been pushed out another nine points into no-hoper territory. A "wow" moment in antepost market repricing.

We're talking about Sixpence, who has flown over from Japan for the Prix Jacques Le Marois. And he is 25/1 to win Sunday's showpiece at Deauville.

You need to forgive the balance of this horse's form. It makes for wobbly reading. Focus on what he has done in has two runs since being transferred to Hiroyasu Tanaka, who ships outside of Asia rarely but with spectacular success when doing so (Rousham Park was a neck second to Rebel's Romance in the 2024 Breeders Cup Turf, Alohi Alii tore up the script in the 2025 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano before getting stuck in a bog in the Arc seven weeks later).

On only his second start for Tanaka (his most recent run), Sixpence won Japan's premier turf mile contest, the Yasuda Kinen, from 16 rivals, including numerous G2 winners and a couple of G1 winners. And the way he won that race impressed us too - not by setting a soft pace and holding on, but by tracking a fast pace and seeing off allcomers to the wire.

Stopping the clock in 1 minute and 32.1 seconds: faster than champion miler Jantar Mantar last year, faster than the great Romantic Warrior in 2024.

Of course, we don't know if Sixpence will translate this form to Deauville on Sunday. He certainly won't be running 1:32.1 on Deauville's ligne droite, which is nothing like as fast a track. But two of his best past races have been wins over 9 furlongs, so we're not the slightest bit worried about his stamina.

To state the glaringly obvious, the only thing that matters in this context is the price you consider fair value for Sixpence to beat a field of European milers that contains no star.

So is that price 4/1, 6/1, 8/1, 10/1? We're not quite sure. Somewhere in that range. We'd have difficulty narrowing it down. But Japan's champion miler cannot possibly, in any sane world, be 25/1 to take down the Prix Jacques Le Marois this coming Sunday. He is the price he is because the vast majority of bettors in Europe have never heard of him, and the only horses being backed are clearly the "familiar" ones. That's a bias to be exploited.

And so we advise backing Sixpence now before the final field is set (not least because a couple may drop out). This guy won't drop out bar illness or injury. We apologize in advance that the price will not hang around if you do not read this article shortly after publication. But hopefully the bookmakers in question will cut to a price that is still attractive (see below).

Recommendation: Back Sixpence each-way with Paddy Power or Skybet at 25/1 to win the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville on Sunday 16 August. Anything down to 16/1 is very fair value.