ParisLongchamp staged their all important and informative Arc Trials card on Sunday afternoon and as always it threw up plenty of pointers to the Arc weekend itself.
Three weeks in advance of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, three races on the Longchamp card are universally recognized as the stepping stones to the big race in question.
Sottsass showed a touch of class in the Prix Niel, and Waldgeist, who repeated his 2018 success in the Prix Foy, both saw their October 6th bids enhanced.
However, the John Gosden-trained Star Catcher, the winner of the Prix Vermeille, does not currently hold an Arc entry and the chances of her being supplemented appear to be reasonably slim given that all of Gosden’s focus will be on Enable.
Here is a summary of how the key races unfolded in Paris:
Arabian Nights
One month on from his victory in the Doha Cup at Deauville, Akoya was victorious in the opening race on the card for Arabian bred horses - the Prix Dragon. Trained by Karin Van Den Bos, the five-year-old led from gate to wire and was never threatened for the lead at any stage.
Akoya was running for the first time at the venue three weeks prior to his main objective, the Arabian World Cup, a race that we will be pricing up here at 888Sport much nearer the time.
Akoya was ridden by Théo Bachelot who said: “The horse pleased even more today than at Deauville. He is stronger, and with the main race of the autumn approaching, it’s a perfect prep.”
Prix Foy
The Prix Foy was won for the second year running by Waldgeist. The son of Galileo, who is trained by André Fabre, won by two lengths from the gallant grey Way To Paris, with the Japanese raider Kiseki back in third.
Waldgeist will be running in his second Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in three weeks time after finishing a very honourable fourth in 2018.
His regular jockey, Pierre-Charles Boudot said: “I placed my mount in behind the Japanese raider who set a good pace. He picked up gradually in the straight.
"He perhaps showed a little less acceleration than last year, but it was very much a tune-up race and he will be in peak condition come three weeks’ time.
"He has run some great races this season. On his previous start, he finished within a length and half of Enable and Crystal Ocean. So there are reasons to be hopeful on October 6th”.
Waldgeist and Kiseki both went in different directions in the Arc betting after the conclusion of the Prix Foy, while Way To Paris must now be a ranked a live contender in the Prix Cadran on October 5th.
Prix Vermeille
The race for three-year-old and older fillies was won by the John Gosden-trained Star Catcher in the famous Anthony Oppenheimer colours.
Oppenheimer, who tasted Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe success in 2015 with Golden Horn, will probably be in lengthy discussions with Gosden in regard to where they go next.
Gosden said afterwards: “The filly doesn’t have to race from the front, but Frankie Dettori preferred to take matters into his own hands by making the running – granted that no one was keen to go on!
"He’s a genius. This win is down to him, the filly herself and her owner-breeder. As regards going for the Arc, we will have to wait and see”.
Star Catcher does not currently hold an entry in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe but can be backed with us at 20/1 should connections decide to chance their arm.
Prix Niel
The last Arc trial of the afternoon went the way of the exciting three-year-old Sottsass.
Making his first racecourse appearance since winning the Prix du Jockey Club in June, Sottsass eventually escaped from a very tight pocket on the rail, bursting through with an exceptional turn of foot to score by a length and a quarter.
His trainer Jean-Claude Rouget said after the race: “I hadn’t made allowances for the race unfolding in such a manner. I was of the opinion that the colt would have held his place behind his pacemaker, but this wasn’t the case.
"It then took some time before the gaps came his way. However, that’s perfect as I didn’t want the colt to have a hard race and, at the end of the day, he has only had to make a race of it for 100m”.
Runner-up Mutamakina is entered up for both the Prix De Royallieu (Sat 5th Oct) and the Prix L’Opera (Sun 6th Oct) whilst Aidan O’Brien’s Mohawk, who also put in a brave display, has the option of the Prix Dollar (Sat 5th Oct) or the Arc itself a day later.
Prix du Petit Couvert
As well as there being three specific Arc Trail races taking place on Sunday, two other Group races adorned the card that also had Arc weekend ramifications.
The Group Three Prix du Petit Couvert is a traditional warm-up race for the Prix de l’Abbaye and it was the British raider Glass Slippers that successfully bombed down the 5-furlong straight at ParisLongchamp.
This three-year-old filly, who arrived in Paris off a Listed win in Deauville in August, is trained in Hambleton, Yorkshire by Kevin Ryan. She won by a short head from another English-trained runner in Shades Of Blue (Clive Cox).
ParisLongchamp organisers will be pleased to know that the first four horses home (Glass Slippers, Shades Of Blue, Gold Vibe, Sestilio Jet) will all be back to contest the Abbaye on October 6th.
Prix du Pin
The final Group race of the day, the Prix du Pin, was won by the favourite City Light.
The five-year-old was winning his second Group race, having placed multiple times at Group level including in the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot in 2018.
Ridden by Christophe Soumillon, City Light won with plenty in hand from the second placed Grainges. Both horses are set to contest the Prix de la Forêt on Arc Day.
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Keep a close eye on the 888sport website for all your Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe horse racing odds ahead of the 2019 meeting.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Francois Mori / AP Photo*
