By Tom Frary
There was a time when projecting the winner of the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was simple. Just look for the Andre Fabre-trained colt perfectly tuned for the ParisLongchamp monument and voila. Times change, of course, and the master of Chantilly no longer enjoys the same dominion over the great race he conquered on five occasions between his inaugural victory with Trempolino in 1987 and Sagamix (Fr) in 1998. Just a trio have managed to extend that tally subsequently, which interestingly features only two older horses.
This year, he enjoys the perfect scenario with an elite 3-year-old colt in the form of Sosie (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who has steadily morphed into an ideal candidate for this autumnal overture. Those who witnessed his heavy defeat at the hands of the filly War Chimes (Fr) (Summer Front) as a fledgling in Chantilly's Listed Prix Isonomy would not have predicted he would be heading to post as near-favourite for the Arc, but this is a cast-in-stone mile-and-a-half specialist who has needed time and distance to thrive.
Third behind Look De Vega (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) when looking to find the 10 1/2-furlong trip of the G1 Prix du Jockey Club too sharp in June, the Wertheimer homebred came into his own when overpowering his peers in the course-and-distance G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G2 Prix Niel. The former saw him close out the last three furlongs of this track in 33.66, which he didn't need to repeat in this race's traditional 3-year-old prep three weeks ago. While she was racing beyond her optimum, the Grand Prix de Paris fourth Tamfana (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) did her bit for the form in the G1 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.
Alain and Gerard Wertheimer understand the significance of this event, a qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf next month, more than most and with the sharp filly Aventure (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in as able understudy, 2024 is a big year for the operation. “Not all horses are used to Longchamp, but he knows the track and it is definitely a plus for him,” their racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau said. “In my mind he [Sosie] is the best 3-year-old French colt at this distance at the moment, so it will be very interesting to see if he can be competitive and be the best on Sunday. He's being called one of the favourites, but in my mind five or six horses could be favourite.”
LA Dreaming…
Where Fabre was once the undisputed King of Europe, Aidan O'Brien now holds that unofficial title but this ultimate prize has been hard to conquer even though he saddled a remarkable one-two-three in 2016. In many ways, Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) fits the “Fabre mould” as an already high-class 3-year-old colt seemingly honed for the demands of this race. After an effort in the Derby that can be upgraded, he appeared to coast through a G1 Irish Derby and a G2 Great Voltigeur under a maximum penalty before putting up an eye-catching display over a trip short of his best in the G1 Irish Champion Stakes.
“We've yet to see the best of him,” warned Aidan O'Brien, who enjoyed such a stellar Saturday at the track. “He's a very big horse, is making progress and has a very imposing physique. The trip suits him perfectly. He acts well on right-handed courses and this has been the plan since his victory in the Irish Derby.”
Worth A Second Look?
Having lost his unbeaten record in the Niel, Al Shaqab Racing and Ballylinch Stud's G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero Look De Vega (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) faces the ultimate test of his stamina which is unproven beyond 10 1/2 furlongs. From the family of the fellow Chantilly Classic winners Latice (Ire) (Inchinor {GB}) and Lawman (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), there is a genuine doubt as to whether he can stretch out sufficiently to prove a force to be reckoned with in this company.
His tame finishing effort up the ligne droite here last time has been put down to being off his ideal racing weight, but equally it could hint at a fault line in his staying power. Defeat in the Niel is not the end, however, and his many supporters can take solace in the memory of both Peintre Celebre and Bago (Fr) (Nashwan) being overturned in it prior to making the leap forward the following month.
“I think it's a wide-open race and it is nice to see he has a nice draw in eight which means Ronan [Thomas] will have options and will be able to see where the pace is early,” Al Shaqab's French racing consultant Rupert Pritchard-Gordon said. “The most important thing is Yann and Carlos are very pleased with him, I spoke to Yann a couple of days ago and he feels he has got the horse in a good place now and ready to do himself justice in the big one.”
The Supporting Cast…
Whether Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) will end the long period of hurt for Japan in this race remains to be seen, but as a full-brother to the 2019 winner Sottsass (Fr) he has better pedigree credentials than many of his compatriots who have tried and failed before. His full-sibling was a 4-year-old when succeeding, having come up short a year previously and it could be that Susumu Fujita's big hope is a touch on the tender side encountering such fierce competition. That doesn't apply to Juddmonte's hardened filly Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}) and Baron Edouard De Rothschild's admirable Mqse De Sevigne (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), but where the former needs this trip and has an ideal draw the latter faces the double whammy of unproven stamina and the outside post.
The grand talents in their different spheres Joseph O'Brien and Yutaka Take covet a first Arc and there is more than an outside chance that it could come via the Japanese-owned G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin winner Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). He still has untapped potential despite being towards the end of his 4-year-old career and has been specifically targeted at this even before his gallant second to City Of Troy (Justify) in the G1 Eclipse.
Coolmore's G3 Prix du Lys winner Delius (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was even faster than Sosie when finishing the Grand Prix de Paris in :33.57 and has the look of a colt whose aim this has always been. He could thrive off a stronger pace which is also the case for Aventure whose finishing kick has to be employed at the precise moment, while Guy Pariente Holding and Qatar Racing Ltd's Irish Derby runner-up Sunway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) is one of the live outsiders due to his blue-collar aptitude.
Trainer David Menuisier thinks his temperament will take him a long way. “We've been mulling over with Guy Pariente whether to go for the Arc and it seems to be a case of now or never,” he explained. “The horse is flying at the moment, having been in good form all year so there's no reason not to go for it. He's had no luck this year and we're waiting for the day it will turn. He is one of the toughest horses that I've ever trained and he never stops giving of his best.”
“We've learned to understand him better over time,” he added. “He can handle all types of ground, but the key with him is pace. He needs a strong pace and all the more so because he's endowed with genuine stamina.”
The New Zarkava?
Sunday's ParisLongchamp card opens with something potentially very special, as it did in 2007 when Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar) first served notice of her supreme athleticism in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac. So when her granddaughter Zarigana (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) lit up the G3 Prix d'Aumale over this course and mile trip last month it was inevitable that the Aga Khan homebred would spurn comparison with her esteemed ancestress in this “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. If Ballydoyle's fellow TDN Rising Star Bedtime Story (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) is on her A-game, this renewal could be one of the very best in its history but her latest performance in the G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes suggests she is in danger of going the wrong way having looked such a world-beater in the Listed Chesham Stakes.
Francis-Henri Graffard is hoping that Zarigana can extend the stable's year-long purple patch. “She is very well, everything has gone smoothly and we're looking forward to Sunday,” he said. “She won nicely in her two races and it's big step up in class now, hopefully she can show she is competitive against group 1 fillies. She won on soft ground the other day so we're not worried about that, she's a good-looking, well-bred filly with a lot of talent.”
Aidan O'Brien said of Bedtime Story, “She just jumped smart and was then a little bit keen in the Moyglare and we think that was the reason for her little bit of a disappointing run.”
He also has the progressive Moyglare third Exactly (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who has to reverse a narrow margin with Simmering (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) from that contest, and who will be forcing the pace from the outset as Ryan Moore tries to get Bedtime Story back on an even keel.
The Gold Standard?
John and Thady Gosden are convinced that Juddmonte's Field Of Gold (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) is capable of more than he showed when winning Sandown's G3 Solario Stakes in August and we may well find out in an ultra-competitive edition of the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Ballydoyle's G2 Futurity Stakes winner and G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes runner-up Henri Matisse (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Manton Thoroughbreds' G2 Coventry Stakes winner and G1 Prix Morny runner-up Rashabar (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) and Al Shaqab Racing, Haras d'Etreham and Mustapha Bekhti's G3 Prix des Chenes winner Misunderstood (Fr) (Hello Youmzain {Fr}) are sure to test him and they are just three of the cast of classy colts lining up.
“He's in good form and he's a very promising colt,” Juddmonte's European racing manager Barry Mahon said of Field Of Gold. “I thought he did it very well in the Solario and the form of the race seems to be working out with Royal Playwright running so well in the Royal Lodge. John and Thady seem happy with him and it is all systems go.”
Sam Sangster said of Rashabar, “I kind of felt that if the draw had been a little less biased towards the winner then we would have been a lot closer in the Morny. He's out of a Camelot mare and after looking at his pedigree and chatting to Billy [Loughnane] and Sean [Levey], neither were concerned about whatever the ground was going to turn up like on Sunday. We're coming into the race with a lot of confidence and he is working very well and whatever he does this weekend, he has a really big future next year ahead of him.”
The Fast And The Furious…
Hard-luck stories are familiar in the five-furlong G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines, so it is fortunate for Victorious Racing's Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) that he has such an uncomplicated style drawn out from the rail in nine. Better than ever after his serious injury when taking the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes and G1 Flying Five, the Archie Watson-trained TDN Rising Star may only have to repeat his defeats of compatriot Believing (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) to bring up a significant treble.
“It would have been better to have been two or three closer to the rail, but there are no excuses,” Victorious Racing's racing manager Oliver St Lawrence said of this qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. “Him and Believing have emerged as the top two around, the only other is Lazzat who won the Maurice de Gheest and he's heading for the Golden Eagle in Australia, I believe. Hopefully all will be revealed and the rain stays away. I think next year will depend on how he runs over the next short while, but I think he will probably retire. Archie and the team have done an amazing job to get him back and it is testament to the horse himself.”
New Territory For Fallen Angel…
Of those engaged in the G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines, Wathnan Racing's Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) is one who may have the most upside if the move to a mile and a quarter suits as much as connections believe. Having done all her best work overseas, the G1 Irish 1,000 Guineas and G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes winner was no match for the crack miler Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) in Leopardstown's G1 Matron Stakes last month, prompting this change in ploy.
“Going up in trip is going to be the big question, but everyone in the team feels that will really suit her,” Wathnan's racing adviser Richard Brown said. “It was a great comeback run in the Matron and we were delighted with that having been off a fair while and we're looking forward to seeing her up in trip. The ground will be on the soft side and she will enjoy that. James [Doyle] said you can do what you want with her, put her where you want in a race, she's just a complete pro and that is going to stand her in good stead for a big day.”
Interestingly, Ryan Moore has opted to ride the Matron fourth Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) over the G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Content (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), whose main priority is the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, with the Opera a “Win and You're In” for the Del Mar feature. The G1 Fillies' Mile winner has yet to truly fire this season, but may be a fresher filly than the G1 Prix de Diane heroine Sparkling Plenty (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) who went to the energy-sapping G1 Prix Vermeille last month. George Strawbridge's G2 Prix Alec Head and G3 Valiant Stakes winner Friendly Soul (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is in deeper waters, but as a half-sister to the 2014 Opera heroine We Are (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) she has the pedigree to fit.
Can Kinross Do It Again?
Successful in the 2022 G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret, Marc Chan's Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) returns with an ideal low draw in a swollen edition taken on by the likes of Godolphin's G1 Prix du Moulin hero Tribalist (GB) (Farhh {GB}) and Yeguada Centurion's 2023 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes hero Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}). With so many runners, the Ralph Beckett-trained stalwart should be able to tuck in and conserve energy and wait for the gaps to appear in the straight, which is his style.
Christopher Head puts Ramatuelle (Justify) back into action off a lengthy break having failed to truly stay the mile of the G1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and this seven-furlong trip could prove to be her forte. “Ramatuelle is really nice and she's had a lot of advantage missing the summer, it's really done her well,” he said. “She is really doing her job every morning and I am really happy with her. She is still as good as she was at the beginning of the season.”
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