Arc in mind for Eclipse runner-up Al Riffa as connections map out autumn campaign

Joseph O'Brien will give Al Riffa a small break after his huge runner-up effort in last Saturday's Coral-Eclipse before a possible tilt at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Champion Stakes at Ascot in October.

The Wootton Bassett colt was an exceptional two-year-old in 2022, winning all three of his starts, which included a dominant display in the Group 1 National Stakes. He was limited to two starts last season due to a setback but got within three quarters of a lengths of subsequent Arc winner Ace Impact in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville.

He returned with a fourth, beaten less than a length, in the Prix Ganay before contesting the Manhattan Stakes at Saratoga, where he finished sixth behind the Charlie Appleby-trained Measured Time. However, he bounced back to something like his best on Saturday when getting within a length of City Of Troy at Sandown.