David Menuisier is not losing heart after Sunway’s beaten run in the Prix la Force at ParisLongchamp on Sunday.

The Galiway colt, who is a full-brother to Champion Stakes winner Sealiway, won the Group One Criterium International at Saint-Cloud and was second in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster last season.

The former run was on very soft autumn ground and he encountered heavy going at the weekend when making his seasonal debut in the Group Three Prix la Force.

His prior form contributed to his status as the 3-5 favourite under Oisin Murphy, but the bay could only finish fifth when beaten two and three-quarter lengths by Atlast.

Menuisier felt the way the race panned out did not play to his horse’s strengths, but is happy to have the run under Sunway’s belt ahead of bigger targets throughout the year.

“I think the pace was a bit too slow, Oisin kicked himself after the race thinking that they were absolutely hacking and finished on a sprint,” he said.

“Stamina wasn’t really tested, the horse was a little bit rusty when they quickened and then he kind of went again.

“We noticed after the race that he got struck into on his left-fore tendon by another horse, probably the winner when he came past us.

“I’m not saying that was the cause of the defeat, it was more a combination of things, it’s like being tackled in the Achilles tendon for football players, it hurts at the time.

“On the whole the horse was only at 80 per cent, it was a prep race. He was always going to improve for it, he was not beaten far.

“I can’t say that I’m happy with the situation, but we need to think from a bigger perspective. I don’t think it was complete chaos, we’ll live to fight another day.

“He needed the race, that’s the principle of having trial races and he’s still a good horse and he hasn’t lost anything in defeat.”

Sunway is entered in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the French 2000 Guineas, and the Dante at York, though which path he will take is not yet decided as the dust still settles.

Menusuier said: “We will move forward, it is too early to say what we will do next – whether we go for the Poule d’Essai over one mile or whether we step up in trip for the Dante or the Prix Greffulhe, I don’t know.

“My position hasn’t changed at all, it was a stepping stone whether he won or not.

“It was a race you could run countless times and get different results and I don’t think he was beaten by a better horse, he was beaten by the circumstances.”

Sunway will be out to keep Classic dreams alive when he returns to action in the Prix la Force at ParisLongchamp on Sunday.

David Menuisier’s colt highlighted his ability right from the beginning of his two-year-old campaign and although fluffing his lines in the Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot, was back to his best when second in a soft-ground Champagne Stakes at Doncaster in September.

He ended the season by striking at the highest level in Saint-Cloud’s Criterium International and it is no surprise the son of Galiway heads back to France for the first outing of his Classic season in the hands of regular big-race pilot Oisin Murphy.

“The horse seems well and he had a stretch of the legs at Kempton the other day and we were very pleased with him,” said Menuisier.

“He’s in a good place for a first run and we will be keeping our fingers crossed.

“It is famous last words, but the ground shouldn’t be an issue. It will be hard on the horses but we feel ours goes on it quite good and the trip shouldn’t be a problem, so we go there quite positive.”

Sunway holds an entry for the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in early May, but Menuisier would like to keep treading a continental path with his star colt, with a return to his homeland for the French Derby at Chantilly high up on the three-year-old’s list of priorities.

“Later down the line, we would like to aim at the Prix du Jockey Club, but we need to take races one by one, obviously,” he added.

“We could drop back in trip to run in one of the Guineas or we could go up in trip to run in a Derby trial next month. It will all depend on what happens this weekend and what Oisin and the owners think – and then we will take it from there.”

There is plenty of British interest in the French capital on Sunday afternoon and Charlie Appleby’s one-time Derby hopeful Military Order will continue his recovery mission in the Prix d’Harcourt.

A winner of three of his first four starts, the son of Frankel was sent off at 9-2 when disappointing at Epsom last summer.

Another failure at Chester followed, but having been gelded over the winter, he has produced two encouraging displays on the all-weather, landing the Winter Derby at Southwell most recently.

Rivals in the 10-furlong Group Two include Grand Prix de Paris winner Feed The Flame and Patrice Cottier’s multiple winner and Champion Stakes third Horizon Dore, with Military Order one of two Godolphin candidates alongside Andre Fabre’s Birr Castle.

“Military Order goes into this in good shape on the back of his Winter Derby success,” Appleby told www.godolphin.com.

“Conditions will be testing in Paris, although he handled soft ground at Newbury last season.”

Karl Burke’s Molten Rock will attempt to build on her encouraging third in Newmarket’s Montrose Stakes on her return to action in the Group Three Prix Vanteaux, while both Jack Channon’s Gather Ye Rosebuds and Kevin Philippart De Foy’s Ermesinde will take part in the Listed Prix Zarkava.

David Menuisier is keen to plunder more cross-Channel prize money with star three-year-old colts Sunway and Devil’s Point this spring.

The former signed off his juvenile campaign with a valuable Group One triumph in the Criterium International over a mile at Saint-Cloud.

Devil’s Point, meanwhile, warmed up for his Futurity second at Doncaster behind Ancient Wisdom by finishing a fair fourth in Group Three company at the same French track.

Both are entered in the Qipco 2000 Guineas and Menuisier insists he would not be scared of taking on City Of Troy at Newmarket, declaring: “He’s only made of flesh and bones like all the rest.”

However, the West Sussex-based handler is currently exploring other options in his native country.

Menuisier said: “Sunway could well start in the Prix Fontainebleau on April 14 at Longchamp, but he will also be entered in the La Force, which is over nine furlongs on April 7.

“That’s because a lot of the big guns are going to meet on the 14th in the Fontainebleau and I always like to think outside of the box.

“So, the La Force could be a good alternative, because I think the horse will stay really well and his main target in the first half of the season will be the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby).

“It’s early days, but to me that’s his first big target, whether we run in the Poule (d’Essai des Poulains, French 2000 Guineas) before that, we could – I’m still open minded on which way we go.”

Devil’s Point was prominent throughout the Futurity before being outstayed by Ancient Wisdom at Doncaster on heavy going.

On his plans, Menuisier added: “Devil’s Point is likely to run in the Prix Djebel in France at Deauville on April 9, which is a Group Three over seven furlongs and should suit him really well.

“He’s entered in the 2000 Guineas, he’s entered in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and he’s entered also in the German Guineas, but it will all depend on his first run and I’ll take it from there.

“We’ve been discussing it with the owners for the best part of six months and we are not completely convinced that he stays a mile very well.

“Even in the Futurity, he came to win his race and I thought then he wasn’t really seeing out the trip.

“So, that’s why I want to start over seven first of all and then after that there’s a chance that we might even drop in trip.”

David Menuisier can head into the winter dreaming of big-race glory in 2024 thanks to the recent exploits of some of his star two-year-olds.

By his own admission the Frenchman has endured a tough campaign, with winners hard to find throughout the height of the Flat season.

However, some of the younger members of Menuisier’s Coombelands string, such as Sunway and Devil’s Point, have come to the fore at the backend of the campaign as the handler finishes the 2023 turf season on a real high.

Menuisier said: “It’s great and we’ve had a bit of a tough time with the older horses, especially the three-year-olds throughout the season, so it’s nice that the two-year-olds have kind of saved the year for us and especially in such a fashion.

“We knew we had a nice bunch but it’s hard to predict, even six weeks ago, that they are as good as they actually are.”

After Sunway provided Menuisier with just his fourth Group One triumph when landing the Criterium International, the handler returned to his homeland to plunder more big-race glory just five days later when crack two-year-old fillies War Chimes and Tamfana won the Prix Isonomy and Prix Miesque respectively.

A day later Devil’s Point capped a fine week for the trainer when finishing a brave second to Ancient Wisdom in Doncaster’s Futurity Stakes, a performance which thrilled Menuisier.

“In all honesty the French race worked out really well – the Thomas Bryon that he ran in as a prep,” explained Menuisier.

“That race wasn’t really run to suit and the ground was not quite as soft as it should be for him to show his true potential, so we felt we would find a bit more improvement in the Futurity and he did.

“It was very satisfactory and he was just beaten by a better horse on the day. There is not much more you can say, it was absolutely fantastic.”

Menuisier is yet to taste Classic success but he appears to have plenty of ammunition tucked away at his West Sussex base for 2024 and can now savour the prospect of aiming his high-class youngsters at some of racing’s biggest races when they return to the track next season.

“We’ve had a tough season so I think it is important until Christmas to stay on a bit of a cloud and then from January onwards we can start working out plans for all of them,” he said.

“It is hard to tell how much more improvement they are going to find but War Chimes looks like a lovely middle-distance stayer and Tamfana could be literally anything. She has won over seven furlongs and she won her maiden over a mile. She’s got speed and should stay a bit and is very exciting.

“Obviously the two colts, Sunway and Devil’s Point, are ones for the Classics as well and we have some other horses that we won with and put away like Goodwood Odyssey and Ashariba and a few more that have run only once or not at all that will come to hand next season.

“It is exciting and we don’t want to get too excited too soon, but it is time to reflect and enjoy now and hopefully things go according to plan and we can get excited again next spring. I’m looking forward to it.”

Sussex-based handler David Menuisier enjoyed a happy homecoming as Sunway upset highly-regarded French juvenile Alcantor in the Group One Criterium International at Saint-Cloud.

Oisin Murphy made good use of Sunway throughout the mile contest and forged ahead of Aidan O’Brien’s front-runner Navy Seal two furlongs out.

Andre Fabre’s odds-on favourite Alcantor and Mickael Barzalona threw down a strong challenge in the latter stages, but Murphy had left a bit up his sleeve and the 43-10 chance galloped on strongly up the favoured stands side.

French-born Menuisier, who began his career as assistant to Criquette Head-Maarek in Chantilly, tasted success at the top level with Wonderful Tonight at ParisLongchamp and on British Champions Day at Ascot three years ago and was delighted to enjoy another big win.

“Everything went according to plan,” said the trainer. “We wanted him to be up there in second or third, Oisin was able to give him a breather turning for home and then when he asked him to go, he really kicked on.”

Sunway impressed when making a winning debut at Sandown and bounced back from a below-par effort in a hot race at Ascot to split Iberian and subsequent Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere scorer Rosallion in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.

“He’s a very good horse, he ran well in the Champagne and Oisin really struggled to pull him up after the line that day, so we knew he would stay on well.

“It’s fantastic to have another Group One win and I’m also grateful and so happy for his breeder Guy Pariente, who has supported us and given us a real boost.

“One thing at a time, so we’ll enjoy this victory, but we can now go into the winter dreaming about what might happen next season.”

The son of Galiway, who is co-owned by Pariente, Thomas Lines and Qatar Racing, was cut to as short as 14-1 from 40-1 with Paddy Power for next year’s Qipco 2000 Guineas and introduced into their Derby betting at 33-1.

Winning jockey Murphy told Sky Sports Racing: “He was very relaxed and he’s trained really well into this.

“He won on debut at Sandown, disappointed at Ascot, I don’t know what went wrong, nothing came to light, then he freshened up and ran very well at Doncaster over a trip short of his best.

“Today, he was perfect. I was quietly confident and it’s great because Guy Pariente bred him, he owned the mare and the stallion, Sheikh Fahad and Qatar Racing bought into the horse and Thomas Lines is also involved.

“And it’s also great for David Menuisier, who thought he was very good from early on and today he was brilliant.

“I had a high opinion of him and obviously recommended him plenty and was glad he was able to do that. They have to have the mind to do that and he most certainly does.

“He has a bright future. The rail helped but I’ve no doubt I was on the best horse and the runner-up is a good horse as well.

“He’ll stay further, he’s a brother of (Champion Stakes winner) Sealiway, whose distance was probably 10 furlongs, and I’ve no doubt this fellow will go a furlong or two more.”