ParisLongchamp Sunday

3.20 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de

Triomphe (Group 1)

(3yo+ Colts & Fillies) 1m 4f

Let’s not beat around the bush – this is not a vintage renewal of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The top two three-year-olds are headed elsewhere, while Goliath, Calandagan, Iresine and Rebel’s Romance are all geldings and therefore ineligible.

All of which, of course, doesn’t make working out the winner any easier.

In the mould of last year’s hero, Ace Impact, Look De Vega was the obvious answer, until his tame defeat by both Sosie and Delius in the Prix Foy muddied the waters considerably.

Look De Vega has since thrilled connections with a stunning gallop, but he has three and a half lengths to make up on Sosie from course and distance form just three weeks ago, and a mile and four furlongs is far from guaranteed to be his ideal trip, so, particularly now that he has drifted in price to beyond 4/1, Sosie is much the more appealing option of the pair.

Los Angeles is the best of the rest of the European three-year-old representatives in a field of 16 and, though unconventional, his path since landing the Irish Derby (shouldering a penalty to land the Group 2 Great Voltigeur and then finishing a negatively-ridden but close fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes) leaves Aidan O’Brien’s first string firmly in the argument.

Older horses

Of the older horses, I much prefer the supplemented Bluestocking, from the in-form Ralph Beckett yard and, arriving here on the back of a Group 1 triumph over this track and trip in the Prix Vermeille, to the Joseph O’Brien-trained Al Riffa, who may have run away with a German Group 1 when last we saw him, but had previously been beaten in five consecutive starts. The real wild card in the line-up is the Japanese hope, Shin Emperor, and, though his price has tumbled to the extent that it no longer offers any great value, he is my idea of the most likely winner.

Defeats in two classics mean that he is clearly not the best of his generation at home, but such was the promise of his fine third place, despite a troubled passage and with Los Angeles behind him, in the Irish Champion Stakes, that his claims are incontrovertible.

It would be highly ironic if, following a 55-year quest which has included numerous agonising near misses with home-breds, Japan finally achieves the holy grail of Arc success with Shin Emperor, a full-brother to the 2020 winner Sottsass, purchased just up the road in Deauville as a yearling.

Sosie’s trainer, Andre Fabre, also saddles Mqse de Sevigne and Sevenna’s Knight, as he bids for a record-extending ninth Arc victory.

Despite positive indications in her pedigree, it would be remarkable if Mqse de Sevigne, a recent Group 1 winner over a mile, could stretch her stamina this far, while Sevenna’s Knight has the opposite problem and could be tapped for speed after proving himself one of France’s top stayers over longer trips.

The best longshot could be Zarakem, who proved himself capable of a top-class effort when second in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and should relish this step back up in distance.

SELECTION: SHIN EMPEROR

Next best: Bluestocking

Rest of the card

12.55 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (Group 1) (2yo Fillies) 1m

Aidan O’Brien fires two arrows – the Frankel fillies Bedtime Story and Exactly – at the Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac, but his path to a fifth win in this race is blocked by a formidable obstacle in the shape of Zarigana.

A granddaughter of the unbeaten Arc heroine, Zarkava, Zarigana could barely have been more impressive in two starts to date and looks set to continue living up to her impeccable ancestry. The Ollie Sangster-trained Simmering, second to the best O’Brien female, Lake Victoria, in the Moyglare Stud Stakes, can chase her home.

SELECTION: ZARIGANA

Next best: Simmering

1.30 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc

Lagardere (Group 1) (2yo Colts & Fillies) 7f

Aidan O’Brien’s Henri Matisse has the talent befitting the result of a mating between Wootton Bassett and the dual Group 1 scorer Immortal Verse, but his attitude has looked a little questionable during two Group 2 victories and a close second in the Group 1 National Stakes, so he is worth opposing in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

John and Thady Gosden have experienced a disappointing campaign, and many of their hopes for 2025 are pinned on Field Of Gold, but he did not really impress me in the Solario Stakes. The other big British hope is the Coventry Stakes winner, Rashabar, though his second in the Prix Morny may not be as good as it first appeared and it may be worth chancing the unbeaten Hello Youmzain colt, Misunderstood, whose trainer, Mario Baratti, is very much on the up.

SELECTION: MISUNDERSTOOD

Next best: Henri Matisse

2.05 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (Group 1) 5f

Europe’s top sprint races have been incredibly hard to get a handle on over the last couple of years and the Prix de l’Abbaye, with its low draw bias and tendency to have a big field all looking for the favoured rail position, is no exception.

Bradsell is the one sprinter to have managed to grab more than one Group 1 prize this term but, along with his old rival, Believing, he is likely to find the ground too soft on this occasion. The well-drawn three-year-old Starlust is a better alternative, while Makarova also makes some appeal at each-way odds.

SELECTION: STARLUST

Next best: Makarova

4.05 Prix de l’Opera Longines (Group 1) (3yo+ Fillies) 1m 2f

The Prix de l’Opera has been shared around many different trainers over the past 30 years and, although Aidan O’Brien has a strong hand this time around, saddling Ylang Ylang and Content, the French may mount a successful defence for the fourth straight season, thanks to the Marseille-based handler Patrice Cottier and his Prix de Diane heroine Sparkling Plenty.

She has been beaten twice since that classic glory, not getting the rub of the green either when third in the Nassau Stakes or when sixth in the Prix Vermeille, and this drop back to a mile and two furlongs can see the daughter of Kingman return to winning ways. Johnny Murtagh has declared his Blandford Stakes victrix Hanalia, while Joseph O’Brien saddles the Blandford fifth and Prix Jean Romanet runner-up, American Sonja, meaning that Ireland is responsible for four of the 11 runners.

But it is Karl Burke’s Matron Stakes second, Fallen Angel, one of three British contenders, who could give Sparkling Plenty most to do.

SELECTION: SPARKLING PLENTY Next best: Fallen Angel

4.40 Qatar Prix de la Foret (Group 1) (3yo+) 7f

The presence of the front-runners Tribalist and Matilda Picotte in a massive field of 18 should ensure a furious pace for the Qatar Prix de la Foret, which can see the Christopher Head-trained Ramatuelle finally grab a deserved Group 1 victory on her return from a three and a half month absence.

This seven-furlong trip should be ideal for the daughter of Justify, who didn’t quite last a mile in either the English 1000 Guineas or the Coronation Stakes.

Tribalist, who took the notable scalp of Charyn when allowed too much rope in front during the Prix du Moulin, should prove difficult to peg back provided he doesn’t go too fast early, while Kinross, who won this in 2022 and was an unlucky second 12 months ago, bounced back to form with a Group 2 triumph at Doncaster last month and should again be involved in the finish.

SELECTION: RAMATUELLE

Next best: Tribalist