Cracksman will not run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with his John Gosden-trained stablemate Enable now odds-on to win the European showpiece at Chantilly.
Cracksman dominated his rivals in last month’s Great Voltigeur at York and was just as impressive in the Prix Niel over the Arc course and distance a fortnight ago.
Gosden and owner Anthony Oppenheimer said Cracksman still had the option to run Champion Stakes at Ascot on October 21, but was far from certain to line up.
“The horse is well, which is the main thing,” Oppenheimer said.
“He is in the Champion Stakes, which personally I would say is equally unlikely as the Arc, but that is still four weeks away.
“If the horse was bouncing out of his skin and let us say the ground came up heavy to soft and it blunted the speed of some of those mile-and-a-quarter horses, there could be some merit in it.
“He is a fresh horse, but I would say the Champion Stakes is a backstop.”
Oppenheimer said the fact Sunday’s Arc was at Chantilly while Longchamp was being renovated was another factor in the decision not to run.
“If it was at Longchamp, where the track is wider and the bends are not as tight, it may have been an easier decision,” he said.
