This year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe could be one of the strongest renewals of the prestigious middle-distance contest for a number of years.
All the headlines leading into the race will be about Enable in her bid to win the race for a record third time. There are, however, a number of strong contenders who could spoil the party. Here is a look at three of those.
Love (11/4 joint-favourite)
With two Classics to her name, it has been an exceptional year so far for Love. Aidan O’Brien’s runner has proved herself to be the leading filly from the latest crop of three-year-olds.
The daughter of Galileo had a lot of experience on the track as a two-year-old last season. She featured seven times in 2019, something which has stood her in good stead this year.
Love showcased the speed she has when she won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket over 1m back in May. She then ended any doubts about her stamina with a dominant display in the Oaks, scoring by nine lengths.
Due to her age, Love will be receiving weight from Enable at Longchamp. This could prove to be crucial and might just be enough for her to dethrone the Queen of racing.
Ghaiyyath (8/1)
This year will be Ghaiyyath’s second attempt at the Arc. His opening bid in 2019 did not go very well as he could only finish 10th of the 12 runners. The ground was far from ideal for the horse last year he did have an excuse for the poor showing.
When you access today’s racing results from all the meetings, you will be able to see what the official ground description is at the moment in France. Connections of Ghaiyyath will be desperate for it to be on the firm side as the race approaches since this will increase his chances.
There has been nothing wrong with his three appearances in 2020. He started out at the Meydan World Cup Carnival, scoring in a Group Three event. Victories then arrived at the top level in the UK in the Coronation Cup and Eclipse Stakes. In the latter he beat Enable at Sandown, so he has already shown he has the class to win the Arc.
Stradivarius (12/1)
Arguably the most talented horse in the Arc field this year is Stradivarius. The three-time Ascot Gold Cup winner has been unstoppable at times between 2m and 2m4f.
The trip at Longchamp will obviously be much shorter than his optimum distance. However, connections are happy to take their chances in what may be their horse’s final year in training.
Stradivarius will need to perform better than he did over the Arc distance at Newmarket earlier this season in the Coronation Cup, where he chased home Ghaiyyath and Anthony Van Dyck respectively.
As ever, it is going to be a fascinating watch if all the leading contenders do turn up on the 4th October in Paris. It is Enable though, who is the one all three of the above must beat in their bid to conquer Europe.
