Breeders' Cup Turf: Arc result will impact field

For owners and trainers of Europe’s leading older horses, the autumn schedule is fairly clear – first the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and then maybe the Breeders’ Cup in the United States.

Prize money and prestige play a major role in the decision of which race to run in, or whether to run in both.

Sunday’s Group 1 Arc de Triomphe will be worth approximately $5.76 million and is Europe’s richest race, compared to $4 million for the BC Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3, the richest turf race in the United States.

The Arc has had a higher purse than the BC Turf since 2007 when the BC Turf was worth $3 million and the Arc was worth approximately $2.8 million. Sponsorship money from Qatar racing interests has boosted the purse of the Arc in subsequent years. The BC Turf was raised to $4 million in 2016.

The Arc field is led by Enable, the 4-year-old filly who won the race in 2017. She will be challenged by Kew Gardens, Talismanic, and Waldgeist. Talismanic won the BC Turf at Del Mar last November.

Some of the Arc runners could start in the BC Turf. The list of European shippers will be better known after the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot in England on Oct. 20, a race led by Roaring Lion, who is trained by John Gosden, and Crystal Ocean, trained by Michael Stoute.

Gosden and Stoute have been strong supporters of the Breeders’ Cup since the inception of the race series in 1984. Gosden also trains Enable.

On a domestic note, Channel Maker confirmed his status as a contender for the BC Turf with a win in the Group 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park over Arlington Million winner Robert Bruce last Saturday.

A day later, Liam the Charmer won the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita as a possible prep for the BC Turf.

Liam the Charmer earned $120,000 with a win in the $200,345 John Henry Turf Championship. The pre-entry and entry fees for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs cost $100,000.

A decision is required by Oct. 22, the deadline for pre-entries. Until then, the BC Turf will be debated between trainer Michael McCarthy and owner Sol Kumin, who races as Madaket Stables.

“It’s kind of a poker game,” trainer Michael McCarthy said of the financial risk.

Liam the Charmer, a 5-year-old gelding by Smart Strike, won his first stakes in the John Henry Turf Championship at 1 1/4 miles. He closed from last in a field of six to finish a half-length in front of Ashleyluvssugar, who was fifth in the 2016 BC Turf at Santa Anita and was the only runner in the John Henry field with experience in that race.

Liam the Charmer is only a Grade 2 winner, but has thrived this year, with two wins in as many starts. He won an allowance race with a $100,000 claiming option at Del Mar in August in his first start in a year.

“The horse is relatively fresh, too,” McCarthy said.