The betting for the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe has been left wide open again following the trials at Longchamp at the weekend and Australia’s surprise defeat in the Irish Champions Stakes. With just weeks to go now, bookmakers are struggling to make a clear favourite for Europe’s premier flat race.
Germany Derby winner Sea the Moon has
been forced to retire after picking up a serious injury in his last
run, last year’s winner Treve has disappointed in her last two
starts and Australia now looks likely to go for the Queen Elizabeth
II Stakes in British Champions Day rather than a trip to Paris.
The forgotten horse for this year’s
Arc could be Oaks winner Taghrooda. Her sole defeat came in her last
run on the Knavesmitre at York. John Gosden’s filly went off a
short odds-on favourite for that contest but had to settle for second
as Tapestry got the better of her by half a length.
Taghrooda proved she was capable of
beating her opposite sex, and the older horses, in the Group One King
George back in July so anyone who gives up on her just yet as a
result of her recent
racing form could be being premature. She was also one of the
most impressive Oak winners in recent years when she blew the field
away at Epsom and a repeat of that run would put her firmly in the
mix.
The home challenge this year looks to
be with Treve. The daughter of Le Havre extended her unbeaten run to
six when she was successful at Deauville last month.
Avenir Certain has won two Group One
races this season. She was a surprise 14-1 winner of the Poule
D’Essai Des Pouliches over the short trip of a mile at Longchamp,
while just weeks later, she stepped up in distance to prevail in the
Prix De Diane Longines at Chantilly.