Form suggests the horse to take out of this year's Arc didn't run in the race

Let's not pretend it was the greatest running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Ghaiyyath and Love did not turn up, while connections of Enable and Stradivarius might wish they hadn't bothered after coming unstuck in the mud to finish sixth and seventh.

It wasn't the first time heavy ground robbed the race of runners and performances but let's hope it's the last time a contaminated-food debacle causes four Group 1 winners to be removed on the eve of the race.

Mogul was among Aidan O'Brien's four non-runners and given the way his form worked out the team at Ballydoyle will rue this weekend as a huge missed opportunity.

The form of this year's Arc indicates Mogul would have gone very closeCredit: Quentin Bertrand/APRH

The late absentee comfortably beat In Swoop and Gold Trip by two and a half lengths in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp last month and on Sunday that pair finished very close up in the Arc.

Obviously the ground was completely different that day (good versus heavy on Sunday) so it's hard to make a hard-and-fast case that Mogul would have won but the result certainly leaves open the nagging and painful possibility of what might have been.

Sottsass ranks at the lower end of recent Arc winners with an RPR of 123. It's the same figure he produced when finishing third behind Waldgeist and Enable in last year's Arc and this year it was enough to win.

Full result, replay and analysis of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

In Swoop (122) didn't get the best trip when chasing home Mogul last time but he followed Sottsass up the rail on Sunday and kept on strongly, closing to the line to be denied by a neck.

Persian King (119) faded into third after making the running in a race where the first three home all raced on the rail. Gold Trip finished best of those not on the rail, keeping on for fourth (119).

There's no telling whether Mogul would have handled the ground on Sunday but the runs of the Arc second and fourth were sufficient to see his Grand Prix de Paris success upgraded to an RPR of 122.

Hat-trick hero: One Master did what Enable couldn't by winning her third consecutive Arc-day Group 1 on SundayCredit: Edward Whitaker

Later on the card One Master (118) got the better of front-running Earthlight (119) by a neck to secure a third straight win in the Prix de la Foret with a career high RPR.

Also on Sunday, Tarnawa (116) got up late to beat Alpine Star (115) in the Prix de l'Opera Longines. She may head next to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, where she'd have a great chance.

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners by RPR

Treve (2013) 131
Enable (2017) 129
Waldgeist (2019) 128
Danedream (2011) 128
Golden Horn (2015) 127
Treve (2014) 126
Found (2016) 124
Solemia (2012) 124
Sottsass (2020) 123
Enable (2018) 122

Read more about the Arc:

'That's life' - Gosden rues pace and going but no decision on Enable's future

Rouget proves master of the hour as Sottsass soars in Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

How the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe unfolded on testing ground at Longchamp

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