‘THE world’s best race’, the Arc de Triomphe, is back on Sunday October 2 – and it looks like being a cracker.
We will be without Baaeed and iconic horses such as Verry Elleegant have missed out – but there still promises to be a £4.2m betting bonanza in Paris.
Torquator Tasso sprung an 80-1 shock in the Arc de Triomphe last year
Won down the years by superstars such as Enable and Sea The Stars, whoever passes the post first this year can lay claim to being among the very best in the world.
But that’s not to say the race doesn’t throw up its fair share of shocks.
Who can forget last year, when 80-1 Torquator Tasso surged home to win.
Here, Sun Racing takes a look at all the confirmed runners and riders, their draws… and the latest on Christophe Soumillon’s ban and what it means for Sunday.
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Templegate’s Arc de Triomphe tip
ALPINISTA looks rock solid for the Arc.
She continued her fantastic winning streak when taking the Yorkshire Oaks in fine style last month to make it a brilliant five Group 1 wins in a row.
She stays the distance well and performs on any ground, so it won’t matter what the weather is doing in Paris.
She came up against reigning Arc champion Torquator Tasso in Germany last summer and gave him a proper hiding, which is another plus.
Sir Mark Prescott’s superstar will head to France a fresh horse and looks a fair price to make the frame at least – although she is being backed off the boards as we speak.
Arc de Triomphe runners, riders and and draw
1 Mendocino
Trainer: Frau S Steinberg
Jockey: Rene Piechulek
2 Vadeni
Trainer: J-C Rouget
Jockey: Christophe Soumillon
3 Do Deuce
Trainer: Yasuo Tomomichi
Jockey: Yutaka Take
4 Al Hakeem
Trainer: J-C Rouget
Jockey: Cristian Demuro
5 Deep Bond
Trainer: Ryuji Okubo
Jockey: Yuga Kawada
6 Alpinista
Trainer: Sir Mark Prescott
Jockey: Luke Morris
7 Westover
Trainer: Ralph Beckett
Jockey: Rob Hornby
8 Luxembourg
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Jockey: Ryan Moore
9 Grand Glory
Trainer: Gianluca Bietolini
Jockey: Maxime Guyon
10 Titleholder
Trainer: Toru Kurita
Jockey: Kazuo Yokoyama
11 Onesto
Trainer: F Chappet
Jockey: Stephane Pasquier
12 Alenquer
Trainer: William Haggas
Jockey: Tom Marquand
13 Bubble Gift
Trainer: M Delzangles
Jockey: Olivier Peslier
14 Broome
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Jockey: Wayne Lordan
15 Sealiway
Trainer: F-H Graffard
Jockey: Mickael Barzalona
16 Mostahdaf
Trainer: John and Thady Gosden
Jockey: Jim Crowley
17 Mishriff
Trainer: John and Thady Gosden
Jockey: William Buick
18 Torquator Tasso
Trainer: Marcel Weiss
Jockey: Frankie Dettori
19 Mare Australis
Trainer: A Fabre
Jockey: Bauyrzhan Murzabayev
20 Stay Foolish
Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi
Jockey: Christophe Lemaire
Does the draw matter?
In a word: Yes.
Frankie Dettori has suffered a shocker on defending champion Torquator Tasso, being drawn out in the car park.
But if history shows us anything, it’s that, with the right person in the saddle and the right horse, a bad draw can be overcome.
Frankie won from stall 15 on Sakhee in 2001 and was also drawn wide in 14 when giving Golden Horn a masterful ride in 2015.
But no horse in the modern era has won from wider than stall 16, when Carroll House was successful in 1989, and this is the biggest Arc field in eight years.
Is Christophe Soumillon banned for the Arc?
No, Christophe Soumillon is free to ride in the Arc.
The legendary Belgian jockey has been banned for two months after pushing Rossa Ryan off his horse mid-race.
Miraculously, Ryan was uninjured in the 35mph smash at Saint-Cloud on Friday.
Soumillon’s two month ban kicks in on October 14.
So 48 hours after his actions could have seriously injured another rider, he is free to win Europe’s richest race.
However, Soumillon will miss out on money-spinning rides, some of which were to come at Champions Day at Ascot on October 15.
He will also miss the Breeders’ Cup and Japan Cup.
Arc de Triomphe odds
7-2 Luxembourg
5-1 Alpinista
6-1 Torquator Tasso
8-1 Titleholder, Vadeni
10-1 Westover
14-1 Onesto
20-1 Mare Australis, Mishriff
25-1 Al Hakeem, Do Deuce, Mendocino
33-1 Mostahdaf, Sealiway
50-1 Deep Bond
66-1 Alenquer, Bubble Gift, Grand Glory, Stay Foolish
80-1 Broome
What the bookies say
Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: “This year’s race looks like the most open one in years, and with such a competitive race, punters haven’t latched onto to one particular horse.
“The strongest support in recent days has been for Torquator Tasso, but we think Alpinista will be the public horse and could challenge Luxembourg for favouritism.
“The last time the Arc winner hailed from UK/Ireland was in 2018 thanks to Enable, and this year the odds suggest that we will have bragging rights once more.
“Alpinista is emerging as the horse the public want to be with, and she is now closing the gap with Luxembourg.”
Coral’s John Hill said: “The ground looks to be falling in favour of the defending champion Torquator Tasso this weekend and, as a result, the German horse is being well-backed to prevail at Longchamp once again.
“He now only has Luxembourg ahead of him in the betting.”
Arc de Triomphe going and weather forecast
The Arc was run on heavy going last year.
The forecast for the days before the race this year shows the French capital can expect quite a bit of rain.
According to myweather2.com, Longchamp racecourse can expect rain every day from now until Sunday.
The ground at Longchamp is currently a mixture of good to soft, soft – but officials are preparing for ‘very soft’ ground on Sunday.
Some 10mm of rain is expected to fall on Saturday and continue into Sunday.
Clerk of the course Charles de Cordon said on Thursday: “The ground could get to very soft by Sunday, provided the forecast of 6-10mm of rain on Saturday proves accurate.”
