Sosie carrying French hopes of total Eclipse at the weekend

French ace Sosie is primed to continue his flying start to the season when he travels to Britain for the first time in a star-studded Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday.

The four-year-old has won six of his nine starts for Andre Fabre, breaking his Group One duck in the Grand Prix de Paris last season before signing off with a fourth-placed finish in the Arc.

The Sea The Stars colt appears to have taken his game to another level since returning to action this spring, successfully dropping back in trip to land both the Prix Ganay and the Prix d’Ispahan at ParisLongchamp, and connections expect a stiff mile and a quarter at Sandown to suit him ideally.

Pierre-Yves Bureau, racing manager for owners the Wertheimer brothers, said: “I think he’s a very good horse, he’s won three Group Ones and we’re very excited to travel him to England for such a big race.

“The fact he has now won Group Ones over nine furlongs and 10 furlongs changed a lot of things, of course. I don’t know how the ground (at Sandown) is going to be at the moment, but he will be happy with good ground.”

Sosie is second-favourite for the Eclipse behind John and Thady Gosden’s Ombudsman, who is set to turn out less than three weeks after his brilliant display in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Aidan O’Brien’s French Derby winner Camille Pissarro and the Owen Burrows-trained Anmaat are other contenders for what looks a particularly strong renewal, but having seen Vadeni become the first French-trained winner of the race since 1960 three years ago, Sosie’s camp are relishing the challenge.

“I think it’s a very good test and it’s a very strong field,” Bureau added.

“It will be interesting to see the three-year-olds and it comes quite quickly for the horses after Royal Ascot, but our horse is doing very well and hopefully he can be competitive.”

It is 10 years since the famous Wertheimer silks were last carried into the Group One winner’s enclosure in Britain, with Solow winning the Queen Anne, the Sussex Stakes and the QEII during a fantastic 2015 campaign.

Bureau said: “We don’t come that often, but we like to come with horses that have strong chances.

“It’s going to be very exciting, hopefully Sosie can continue the very nice start he has made this year.”