Accent will be on soft ground in Arc de Triomphe
Fifteen horses passed the final entry phase Thursday for Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, a race that is beginning to look like a sodden affair.
Tarnawa and Adayar have bounced back and forth as antepost Arc favorites, but a better draw for Tarnawa, post 3, than for Adayar, post 11, moved Tarnawa just slightly to the head of the betting markets Thursday.
Stamina could be at a premium in Sunday’s $5.8 million fixture with the Longchamp course possibly going very soft by Arc post time. The turf officially was rated “soft” as of Thursday and locally heavy rain is forecast Saturday night into Sunday afternoon.
Last October, Tarnawa won the Prix de l’Opera on the Arc undercard over heavy going (before capturing the Breeders’ Cup Turf), and as of Friday she was roughly a 5-2 chance to win the Arc while making her third start of the season.
Christophe Soumillon rides the Dermot Weld-trained mare, while William Buick will be tasked with working out a trip for Derby winner Adayar from post 11. Adayar, who missed an intended start last month in the Prix Niel because of a “minor setback,” won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Cup on July 24 in his most recent start, beating star older rival Mishriff with help from an 11-pound weight-for-age spread.
In Sunday’s race, the older horses Torquator Tasso, Deep Bond, and Broome carry 131 pounds; older mares Tarnawa, Love, Raabihah, and Chrono Genesis carry 128; 3-year-old colts Adayar, Hurricane Lane, Alenquer, Bubble Gift, Sealiway, Mojo Star, and Baby Rider carry 125; and Snowfall, the race’s only 3-year-old filly, carries 121 pounds.
Adayar and Snowfall each were $139,000 supplemental entrants.
Snowfall was the Arc favorite before being upset last month in her Arc prep, the Prix Vermeille, by Teona (withdrawn from Arc consideration Wednesday because of the likely course condition). Snowfall who drew post 9, will be ridden by Ryan Moore, and was a general 11-2 shot as of Thursday.
Love, Snowfall’s Aidan O’Brien-trained stablemate, was the 2020 early Arc favorite before her season was cut short. Her performance level has slipped somewhat in 2021 and Love has always been described as a filly desirous of firmer footing.
Hurricane Lane (post 2 with James Doyle) gives Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby a powerful one-two punch along with Adayar. Hurricane Lane, the Derby second-place finisher, enters on a three-race winning streak.
Deep Bond drew well enough in post 5 but the stronger of two Japanese horses entered, the mare Chrono Genesis, drew wide in post 14, the French filly Raabihah the only rival to her outside.
The Arc is one of six Group 1s on Sunday at Longchamp. Saturday’s card has five Group races, including the Group 1 Prix du Cadran over 2 1/2 miles and the Group 1 Prix Royallieu for older fillies and mares at 1 3/4 miles. Stradivarius is the big name in the Cadran but accounting for soft ground Trueshan could be favored.
The one-mile Prix Daniel Wildenstein drew a strong Group 2 field, while undefeated 3-year-old Sea The Stars gelding Manobo tops the 1 7/8-mile Group 2 Prix Chaudenay.
Sun Chariot Stakes
Snow Lantern and Mother Earth, both mentioned as potential Breeders’ Cup starters, head 13 fillies and mares entered in the one-mile, straight course, Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes on Saturday at Newmarket in England.
In July, Snow Lantern won the Falmouth Stakes, another straight Newmarket mile, by a half-length over Mother Earth. Both fillies have since raced twice, Snow Lantern most recently fourth behind rising star Baaeed in the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp, Mother Earth a slightly disappointing third Sept. 11 at Leopardstown in the Group 1 Matron Stakes.