Prix Greffulhe
In his first start for his new owner on April 13, 1980, Providential won the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris. On the same racecourse, the colt ran second in the Prix Hocquart and third in France's most important race for three-year-old colts, the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club. Fradkoff then entrusted the horse's race conditioning to Olivier Douieb who saddled him to three unsuccessful starts in France, a third-place finish in the Premio Roma at Capannelle Racecourse in Rome, Italy, and twentieth place in a Group 1 race at Hipódromo de San Isidro in Argentina.