Ground 'very testing' as bookies say Alpinista would be 'worst result' in Arc

Rain arrived but swiftly passed prior to the start of one of the most anticipated days of the entire Flat season at Longchamp, a card headlined by the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (3.05).

Conditions were described as soft, good to soft in places at the track on Sunday morning and Rob Hornby, who rides Westover in the day's feature race, called the ground "very testing" after the Marcel Boussac.

The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Europe's richest Flat race, is set to feature a full field of 20, with Luxembourg a major contender to give Aidan O'Brien a third win in the race after success with Dylan Thomas (2007) and Found (2016).

According to France Galop, there was 1mm of rainfall overnight at Longchamp, and 0-3mm is expected to fall throughout the day. Temperatures should remain between 16-20C during racing.

The TurfTrax GoingStick reading of 6.4 on Sunday morning is slightly different to the 6.8 figure provided before racing at Longchamp on Saturday, a card on which the O'Brien-trained Kyprios stole the show with an incredible 20-length win in the Prix du Cadran.

Updated at 2.20pm

Alpinista 'the worst result in the book'

Further rainfall is unlikely to be much of a concern to connections of Alpinista, who is now joint-favourite with Ladbrokes and Coral for the Arc as she goes in search of an eighth successive career victory.

The Sir Mark Prescott-trained mare is bidding to become the first British horse to land the Group 1 since Enable in 2018, and is battling it out in the market with Irish Champion Stakes winner Luxembourg, who is also available at a general 9-2.

Ladbrokes' Nicola McGeady said that a win for Alpinista could prove costly for the bookmakers.

She said: "We thought Alpinista would be the public horse and that is very much the case this morning and she now stands out as the worst result in the book.

"She has proved more popular than the favourite and is closing the gap quickly.

"Each-way punters are getting plenty of bang for their buck with Mishriff at 25-1, while shop punters have been taken by Torquator Tasso."

Jean-Claude Rouget, who trained 2020 Arc winner Sottsass, has a live chance with Al Hakeem, who is now a general 11-1 shot having received plenty of early-morning support.

Coral's John Hill said: "Al Hakeem is the late mover in the Arc betting. Jean-Claude Rouget's runner has been well backed since the draw was made and the three-year-colt is proving the best each-way alternative to the runners at the top of the market.

"We are seeing an equal spread of interest in the top five horses in the betting, which reflects the open nature of the race."

Updated at 11.35am

Market movers

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (3.05)

Al Hakeem
12-1 (from 16-1)

Do Deuce
28-1 (from 33-1)

Bubble Gift
33-1 (from 66-1)

Sealiway
33-1 (from 40-1)

Updated at 10am

Non runners

Longchamp
1.15: The Antarctic (vet's cert)
4.25: Castle Star
5.30: Lanaken

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