Two fillies drop out of Arc picture

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, already smarting from the loss of the now-retired Manduro, lost two of its leading female candidates Tuesday with the announcements that neither Peeping Fawn nor West Wind would run again this year.

Trainer Aidan O'Brien said that Peeping Fawn, his four-time Group 1-winning daughter of Danehill, would most likely be put away for the remainder of the year despite two of her victories having come at the Arc distance of 1 1/2 miles: the Irish Oaks and the Yorkshire Oaks. Peeping Fawn, who was also a possibility for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, has also won a pair of Group 1's at 1 1/4 miles: the Pretty Polly Stakes and the Nassau Stakes.

The Racing Post reported Tuesday that Sheikh Mohammed would be switching his French Oaks winner West Wind, a Machiavellian filly, to Godolphin, and that she would not run again this season. Trained until now in the western French provinces by Henri-Alex Pantall, West Wind had most recently finished second to Mrs. Lindsay in the 1 1/2-mile Group 1 Prix Vermeille.