'The plan is to go' - Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge set to run in Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Bay Bridge is set to be a high-quality addition to the British challenge for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe next Sunday, after connections confirmed last year's Champion Stakes hero was on course for Longchamp as long as conditions do not get too quick.

He will bid to add a second Arc success to Sir Michael Stoute's glittering CV, 13 years on from Workforce, and would be a first runner in Europe's middle-distance championship for the trainer since Ulysses finished third to Enable at Chantilly in 2017. 

The James Wigan- and Ballylinch Stud-owned five-year-old has a string of 120+plus rated performances to his name at ten furlongs and impressed on his first attempt at a mile and a half when coasting to success in the September Stakes at Kempton at the start of the month.

Stoute's assistant James Savage said: "The plan is to go as long as the ground stays on the easy side. He would go over on Friday morning, he would stay probably in Chantilly, and have a canter at Chantilly before the race."

Sir Michael Stoute: trainer of Bay BridgeCredit: Edward Whitaker

Coral cut Bay Bridge to 16-1 (from 20) for the Arc, while he remains 4-1 joint-favourite with the French-trained Horizon Dore for the Qipco Champion Stakes, which this year falls three weeks after Longchamp.

Bay Bridge made a winning start over the Arc's 1m4f trip in the Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton last time, a race Enable won before her Longchamp success in 2018, and is a general 20-1 shot to give Stoute his second win in the race. 

Richard Kingscote has ridden Bay Bridge for his last three starts as well as his Champion Stakes success, while Ryan Moore – who is likely to be required aboard Continuous next Sunday – was aboard when he made his seasonal reappearance at Longchamp this season.

The last published penetrometer reading for Longchamp was Friday's 4.1 or very soft, following 17mm of rain in the middle of last week, although officials expect conditions to have dried up when fresh readings are taken on Monday after a warm weekend in Paris.

"There was a small bit of rain on Friday morning but since then we've had a very nice couple of days since then," said clerk of the course Charles de Cordon. "The forecast is for 25C and a breeze from the south on Monday which should dry the track out a bit more. There is a small risk of rain on Thursday but not for very much."

Drying conditions will be music to the ears of connections of Sisfahan, who was a late withdrawal from Sunday's Preis von Europa and will now head to Longchamp.

The 2021 Deutsches Derby winner will join his Henk Grewe-trained stablemate Mr Hollywood, ensuring Germany has at least two representatives, while Prix Foy third Sammarco is also under consideration. 

Sisfahan returns to the enclosures after finishing second to future Arc hero Torquator Tasso in the 2021 Grosser Preis von BadenCredit: Racing Post/Kitty Trice

Racing manager Holger Faust told the Racing Post: "Sisfahan is going to run in the Arc and stable jockey Lukas Delozier will ride. We were looking for firm ground in Cologne today but there was some cut in it and it was nearer good to soft.

"In Paris the surface is better than in Cologne as there is no training centre and if the forecast is right, we expect good ground and hope for firm. Sisfahan should handle the track as it is quite similar to Berlin where he ran a good race and only finished just behind Simca Mille." 

Faust added: "Last time in Baden Baden the ground was loose and he couldn’t handle it at all. On top of that he needs to be switched off and to use his turn of foot so nothing went right there. We know we're outsiders but we're looking forward to next Sunday." 

Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, (Longchamp, October 1)

bet365: 7-2 Ace Impact, 5 Hukum, 7 Westover, 8 Continuous*, 9 Feed The Flame, 16 Emily Upjohn, 20 Bay Bridge, Luxembourg, Place Du Carrousel, Simca Mille, Through Seven Seas, Zagrey, 25 bar

*needs to be supplemented

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