Europe gearing up for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe

While Australian racing enthusiasts continue to monitor what is soon to become the serious part of the build-up to the Melbourne Cup, European racing is bracing itself for the 100th running of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe which will take place at Longchamp in Paris on Sunday.

The field that will face the starter still has to be finalised but, as you would expect, it is already brimming with the level of quality befitting a race of the Arc’s stature.

One of the horses vying for favouritism for the race is the Dermot Weld trained, HH The Aga Khan owned Tarnawa, a five-year-old mare who will be ridden by Christophe Soumillon … and Soumillon could hardly contain his excitement when talking about the race with At The Races.

“I’m over the moon to be on the favourite,” said Soumillon. “In these kind of races, I’d rather not ride at all than ride a huge outsider. If you ride the favourite, you know that the final straight is going to be good and that anything is possible. And it’s got to be said that in the last few years the Arc has always been won by fancied horses. They are horses we know well, that have been targeting the Arc.

“Thirty or 40 years ago when there were 25 runners, there were the odd big surprises, but no longer today. With the trials you know who goes where and you get a good idea of who is who.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t want to ride anything else,” Soumillon told At The Races. “I believe the two Appleby-trained horses (Adayar, the other runner vying for that place on the top of the betting boards, and Hurricane Lane) will be the ones to beat, but really, I think Tarnawa is something out of the ordinary.

“Dermot Weld is an incredible trainer with lots of experience and a fantastic team at home and I am sure they will bring her to ParisLongchamp in not 100 per cent but 200 per cent condition. I am very proud and honoured that I will be riding her.

The opposition can’t say they haven’t been put on notice!

But, as mentioned, the best of that opposition are not likely to be any pushovers with the likes of Adayar (the Epsom Derby winning son of Frankel who also won the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes), Snowfall (who won this year’s Epsom Oaks by sixteen lengths, the Irish Oaks and the Yorkshire Oaks), Hurricane Lane (the Irish Derby winner) and Love (the Prince Of Wales winner … to mention a few … certainly not being sent into battle by their connections merely to make up the numbers.

All in all, it should be fascinating race with the cream of European talent on show, all chasing a slice of the five million euros on offer.

Of course, the value of the win can extend way beyond that … not to mention the substantial bragging rights that come with the victory.