12:55 – Zarigana
13:30 – Field Of Gold
14:05 – Bradsell
14:40 – Al Ghadeer
15:20 – Shin Emperor and Los Angeles
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
ITV Racing comes from Paris on Sunday with five races from the huge Arc meeting starting here with the Prix Marcel Boussac, a Group 1 for juvenile fillies over 1m. There is a lot of dead wood in here. Bedtime Story blew out badly last time and has never gone this far, while ZARIGANA looks tailor-made for this after two victories here and at Chantilly. The Siyouni offspring is out of a Frankel mare and powered clear of a horse who was unbeaten in three previous starts when scoring in Group 3 company last time. She looks special for the Graffard team and Mickael Barzalona.
Now the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, a Group 1 for juvenile colts over 7f. There’s nothing worse than just wanting a horse to be good, as it makes it hard to talk about a race unbiasedly. I hope FIELD OF GOLD will prove too good for Kieran Shoemark and John & Thady Gosden. Shoemark feels this horse could be unique and has more to offer in time. It’s hard to disagree and the hope is that he’s already classy enough to score well in this company. Henri Matisse is a huge danger, but he was beaten last time – so he is beatable!
Sprinting now with the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye over 5f. It’s not easy to come through the field here, which is what Believing has to do. She gets a better draw here than she has had recently, but BRADSELL is still the one to beat for Archie Watson and Hollie Doyle. The four-year-old is back to his best and impressed massively in the Nunthorpe before landing the Flying Five over in Ireland. The ground should be no issue, although he wouldn’t want it to be bottomless.
The one you have all been waiting for—the Arabian World Cup—a Group 1 over 1m2f for Arabian-bred horses. On paper, AL GHADEER is miles better than the rest with a mark of 130, and he bids to continue a winning streak that saw him land this race at 1-5 this time last year. He should hack up.
Now one of the year’s big races, the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triumph over 1m4f. I don’t usually do this, but I’m tipping up two in this for reasons that will become clear!
The duo in question are LOS ANGELES and SHIN EMPEROR. I have to be with both.
It would be wrong to call Leopardstown’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes an Arc prep, but I think it was just that for those two horses.
Economics defeated Auguste Rodin on that occasion, which is top-class form, with Shin Emperor third and Los Angeles fourth.
Let’s start with Shin Emperor.
The reason I can’t be all in on him is the ground. He’s unproven on a surface with juice, and he may hate it, so he brings a huge risk.
However, having watched many of his runs in Japan, he’s a horse who I’m stunned he has not run over a mile and a half more than once. Even on the only occasion he did so, he stayed strongly in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby).
So, I think it’s easy to argue Shin Emperor has much more to give over the Arc trip. To add to his chances, he was hampered in Ireland before battling well to get the better of Los Angeles for minor positions.
Shin Emperor could easily provide Japan with its first Arc success. But the ground has prevented other raiders before him from showing their best, which may stop this son of Siyouni.
The Irish Derby hero Los Angeles is a solid mile-and-a-half stayer who brings Classic form.
The Epsom third went on to take the Great Volitgeur Stakes at York from the St Leger runner-up Illinois but was never going to find the speed test in Ireland up his street. In the circumstances, he performed with excellent credit.
Los Angeles has only had seven races and goes with juice in the ground, having landed the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud on very soft as a juvenile.
The son of Camelot should still have better to come and I’ll be stunned if he’s not right in the mix.
12:55 – Zarigana
13:30 – Field Of Gold
14:05 – Bradsell
14:40 – Al Ghadeer
15:20 – Shin Emperor and Los Angeles
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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