PARIS - There are signs in the sun and the stars that Sea the Stars will enter into the firmament of Thoroughbred legend at Longchamp on Sunday when victory in the $5.8 million Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe requires nothing more than a repetition of any of his previous five Group 1 victories this season.
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DRF Past Performances
PARIS - The winner of a competitive renewal of the five-furlong Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp on Sunday will automatically qualify for a spot in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, but a more important race on the Arc undercard, the Prix de l'Opera, may reveal more about possible Breeders' Cup runners at Santa Anita on Nov. 6 and 7.
At 1 1/4 miles, the Group 1, $373,000 Opera is an ideal prep for the Filly and Mare Turf. A half-dozen first-class fillies and mares are included in the 12-runner field, and any one of them could prevail without raising an eyebrow.
PARIS - Goldikova faces 13 opponents who will try to add luster to their modest records by finishing second to the world's best miler in the Group 1, $364,000 Prix de la Foret on Saturday, the first day of Longchamp's prestigious Arc Weekend.
Although Goldikova, a 4-year-old daughter of Anabaa, is cutting back to seven furlongs and has drawn wide in post 14, she should succeed in this preparation for a defense of her Breeders' Cup Mile title.
Meydan, the new racing facility under development in Dubai, has finished the installation of an artificial surface manufactured by Tapeta Footings on its 1 1/8-mile main track, the track announced on Thursday.
The sprawling racing facility, which also includes six restaurants, a marina, and an IMAX theater, is scheduled to open for its first live race card on Jan. 28. The racetrack will also host the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 27, the world's richest race.
Mastercraftsman will try to book his place alongside his stablemate Rip Van Winkle in the Breeders' Cup Classic lineup when he makes his synthetic-track debut Friday in the Group 3 Diamond Stakes at Dundalk.
However, this 1 1/4-mile and 150-yard contest is a Win And You're In event not for the Breeders' Cup Classic but for the Breeders' Cup Marathon, an anomaly explained by two factors. First, this was the race won last year by Muhannak before he shipped to California to win the Marathon. And, of course, the Marathon's distance has been extended to 1 3/4 miles since last year.
Rip Van Winkle is set to try and improve trainer Aidan O'Brien's 0-or-10 record in the Breeders' Cup Classic following a battling victory in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
The 8-13 odds-on favorite in a field of four runners, Rip Van Winkle was sent past the front-running Aqlaam with over five-sixteenths of the right-handed mile still to cover.
Breeders' Cup clues will abound Saturday at Ascot when the historic track in Berkshire, England, plays host to three Breeders' Cup Challenge Win and You're In races, all at a mile, the most important of them the $410,000 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Berths in the Breeders' Cup await the winners of a pair of juvenile miles at Ascot on Saturday as part of the Cup's Win and You're In program. The winner of the Group 1, $328,000 Fillies Mile will reserve herself a spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, while the Group 2, $205,000 Royal Lodge Stakes winner gains entry to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.
Rip Van Winkle and Mastercraftsman head a field of 11 milers in the five-day entries for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. A Group 1 mile, the QEII is one of three races to be run there on the day at that distance as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Win And You're In program.