Neil Morrice previews Sunday's Prix De L'Abbaye De Longchamp and the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Prix De L'Abbaye De Longchamp (Group 1)
The Abbaye is again dominated by overseas challengers with the sensational
BATTAASH seeking to repeat his dazzling triumph in this race when it was run at Chantilly in 2017. Ever since a mesmerising success on his 3yo debut at Sandown, the Sheikh Hamadan-owned gelding has been untouchable when on his game. He's dominated the King George Stakes at Goodwood with three straight wins in that Group 2, while his scintillating victory in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes ruthlessly extinguished the theory that he isn't in his comfort zone on the Knavesmire. He's developed the knack of being able to switch off in the slipstream of the leaders before blowing them away with a potent turn of foot at the business end. If he can adopt similar tactics, it should enable him to eradicate last year's defeat at this course when he tried to outgun his foes from the front and had run out of petrol at the finish. Charlie Hills believes his speedball is now the complete article and unless something untoward occurs here, Battaash will be heading to the Santa Anita Breeders' Cup.
MABS CROSS benefitted from Battaash's exuberance to take this race in 2018 which gave the Michael Dods-trained mare ample reward for her frame finishes in the King's Stand Stakes and the Nunthorpe. She was crowned Cartier Champion Sprinter of last year but hasn't looked quite the same through 2019. She started positively with a win in the Group 3 Palace House Stakes but was then well beaten by Battaash in the Temple Stakes at Haydock, finished fourth in the King's Stand at Royal Ascot, fourth to Battaash at York but only sixth in a Curragh Group 1 last time.
The 3yo challenge is led by
SOLDIER’S CALL, whose Windsor Castle Stakes success at the 2018 Royal Ascot fixture played its part in putting former Alec Laird assistant Archie Watson onto the UK training map.
Watson has made his mark as a very effective handler of two-year-olds and Soldier’s Call subsequently landed a Group 3 at Chantilly and a Group 2 at Doncaster before coming back to trouble the judge in all five of his 2019 outings. He ran a cracker to chase home Battaash in the Nunthorpe but can only beat that rival if the odds-on favourite has an off day.
SO PERFECT represents Aidan O’Brien but with a single Group 3 success at Naas back in May to his name has something to prove, taking stock of the fact that his efforts through the summer included a third placing in the Nunthorpe.
Coolmore have a second string to their bow in
FAIRYLAND, winner of two Group Ones as a juvenile and third on her latest start at the Curragh last month. That was easily her best effort in seven 2019 outings and she should not be underestimated.
Neil's Prediction
1st BATTAASH
2nd Mabs Cross
3rd Fairyland
4th Soldier’s Call
5th So Perfect
QATAR PRIX DE L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE (Group 1)
WITH a roll of honour that is a who's who of the great champions of the generations, the Arc deserves its place in the accolades as being the greatest race in the world. On Sunday, ENABLE bids to make history by becoming the first three-times winner, with racing enthusiasts from around the globe making the pilgrimage to the Bois De Boulogne course willing her to stamp her seal of greatness.
John Gosden's handling of the 2017 and 2018 Arc winner through a sublimely unbeaten run is testament to that man's status as the master trainer, and it will take a brave man to oppose the mare on Sunday, when she is carded to start around 8-11 with Hollywoodbets in a field of 11.
Her battle with Crystal Ocean in the King George is already intrenched in the pantheon of famous finishes to that mid summer Ascot spectacular and when following up in the Yorkshire Oaks the 5yo brushed aside her rivals with characteristic disdain, posting a fourth career defeat of Magical.
She has trained beautifully in the interim and delighted Frankie Dettori in her winding up gallop on good to soft ground on the trial ground in Newmarket on Monday. Enable led her regular workmate Crossed Baton and when Dettori asked her to stretch she displayed her characteristic turn of foot to go clear. The clarion call in Paris will be for
ENABLE to post what is likely to be a career ending success and do it in a blaze of glory.
After overcoming a troubled campaign a year ago the Khaled Abdullah-owned mare became the eighth dual winner of the Arc, and this year attire he’d her unbeaten sequence to 10 with a hat-trick of Group 1 successes. Running in the same colours as the legendary Frankel, she’s suffered just one defeat in 14 career starts.
Gosden believes that at the age of five, ENABLE is at her peak. He explained: “She’s got a great stride on her and a great head and a wonderful outlook.
“She’s always got her ears pricked and she’s very enthusiastic about everything.
“When she was younger, she would run with unhindered exuberance and was often winning her races well. But now she’s got a little older and wiser. She’s filled her frame and there’s no doubt in my mind that a Flat thoroughbred horse is probably at its peak at five.
“We’ll see how we go. There’s some mighty opposition coming at us, there’s no doubt about that.”
Referring to that final blow out Gosden commented: "It was great to get ENABLE back onto the Limekilns where the ground was on the easy side of good and conditions were perfect as there was no wind.
"I put her in front as it's best to mix it up with her. She can easily get bored doing the same thing. Frankie was happy with her in this important exercise."
The international aspect of the Arc is as radiant as ever with horses from France, Ireland, Japan and the Czech Republic in the field. The Coolmore operation involves two participants in the shape of Juddmonte International Stakes winner
JAPAN (Ryan Moore) and Irish Champion Stakes heroine MAGICAL (Donnacha O'Brien). Investec Derby winner ANTHONY VAN DYCK was scratched in the latest round of forfeits and will be held back for a shot at the Breeders' Cup.
O'Brien said: "Japan has won three since being narrowly beaten in the Derby and is in good form. I imagine Ryan will ride him, with Donnacha on Magical and, if he runs, Seamie Heffernan on Anthony Van Dyck. We're very happy with Magical who had a bit of a break in the summer and was only ready to start back at York. We were delighted with her performance at Leopardstown."
Japan is the top 3-year-old colt in Britain and Ireland, having beaten older horses in the International, won at Longchamp, receives 3lb from Enable and is versatile regarding ground conditions. Nevertheless, he requires a career best to triumph.
MAGICAL has chased the shadow of Enable no fewer than four times but when meeting her at the Churchill Downs Breeders' Cup went down by just threequarters of a length following a memorable battle in the home stretch.
The home challenge for the Arc is led by
SOTTSASS and trainer Jean-Claude Rouget and jockey Cristian Demuro are waxing lyrical about the French Derby winner whose main asset appears to be the turn of foot he conjured up to dismiss Persian King in the Chantilly Classic and then enabled him to survive being stopped several times in the Prix Niel three weeks ago.
Rouget enthused: "His movement is perfect for such a big horse. He worked beautifully behind his lead horse Olmedo. He's an exceptional horse and it's up to him to prove it on Sunday.
“I shall also supplement SOFT LIGHT (at a cost of E120,000) into the Arc. He ran well when second in the Grand Prix de Deauville, and has pleased me. Yutaka Take will take the ride.”
Demuro observed: "Sottsass didn't beat a top class field in the Niel but the feel that he gave me after being stopped four times was amazing. He has to be a good horse to have done that, while he also showed it against Persian King in the Jockey Club."
But also very much in the picture for France is
WALDGEIST who was just two lengths adrift of Enable when third in the King George aafter being given quite a lot to do, and bids to better his creditable effort to finish fourth in the 2018 Arc.
His legendary trainer Andre Fabre reasons: "Waldgeist had an easier race in the King George than when he ran at Royal Ascot and delighted me with the way he won his trial in the Prix Foy.
“It was just what he wanted before the Arc. He had a smooth race without it being too hard. Obviously he will come up against Enable again and what can you say about her ? If Enable runs to her usual level of form in the Arc then she will be very hard to beat.”
In the Foy he cantered to a two length success over Way To Paris, with Kiseki well held in third. It was just what Fabre and the owners wanted to see.
Further home interest is added by FRENCH KING on whom veteran rider Olivier Peslier bids for a remarkable fifth Arc triumph. French King is unbeaten this year and in some ways the joker in the pack, leading his 46-year-old pilot to observe: “He a very tough horse who fights in a finish and can win on any sort of ground. His form is good and he can be competitive, but as for winning the Arc, I’m not so sure.”
It's rare to see a Group 1 won by a double figure margin but that's what happened when GHAIYYATH tackled the Grosser Press Von Baden. The Godolphin-owned 4yo showed how well he operates fresh on his first start over a mile and a half. His jockey William Buick threw down the gauntlet to the others at halfway and from that point extended his lead with every stride to score by 14 lengths.
His trainer Charlie Appleby said: "I was lucky enough to be able to give him a summer break. Some people might question what he beat, but he did it very well."
William Buick said: "I think he's progressed and matured since he was beaten by Waldgeist and Study Of Man in the Ganay. Then on his first start at a mile and a half in Germany he was really impressive. It was a solid German Group 1. Remember Danedream won the Grosser Press Von Baden before she won the Arc, and on top of that Ghaiyyath won it by 14 lengths. He’s an absolute monster.”
At the start of the season few could have envisaged multiple champion jockey Christophe Soumillon siding with a horse trained in the Czech Republic, but though only narrowly denied on NAGANO GOLD in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Belgian has switched to Japanese star KISEKI.
The 5yo, by Sixties Icon, slightly devalued his claims when third in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville.
Japan's long held quest to win a first Arc goes on but it is most unlikely any of their trio of challengers made up of KISEKI, BLAST ONEPIECE and FIEREMENT will be good enough. Kiseki has pleased in his homework since his run behind Waldgeist in the Foy, Blast Onepiece quicker nicely to land a Group 2 last time and connections are confident over his ability to handle the step up in trip while Fierement was back in third that day and is a two mile specialist who won't have the speed to win an Arc.
Soumillon belives soft ground will assist Kiseki and said: “I think soft will be a help to him, although I don’t think he wants it heavy. He’s never experienced anything like that.”
Neil's Prediction
1st ENABLE
2nd Waldgeist
3rd Magical
4th Sottsass
5th Japan
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