Gosden believes Stradivarius will run mighty race in the Arc if handling ground

3.05 Longchamp
Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Group 1) | 1m4f, 3yo+ | ITV/Sky

John Gosden believes Stradivarius will run a "mighty race" in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday, but only if the superstar stayer handles the testing conditions at Longchamp.

The six-year-old, who won his third Gold Cup at Ascot on soft ground in June, was last seen finishing a close second to Anthony Van Dyck when dropping down to a mile and a half for the Group 1 Prix Foy.

Stradivarius is a general 13-2 second-favourite behind his stablemate Enable and stayers have a good record in the Arc, with Ardross, Westerner and Order Of St George all achieving top-three finishes.

"He's had a perfect preparation," said Gosden. "He needed his first run of the season and then went and won the Ascot Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup. I was also delighted with his run in the Prix Foy.

Watch Stradivarius power clear to win his third Gold Cup

"It was a proper French trial, with a steady gallop before a sprint down the straight. He came out of that in great shape and has trained superbly ever since. The only caveat would be that the soft ground he won on at Ascot this year will be a bit different to this.

"Remember that Longchamp is beside the River Seine, which has an alluvial river bottom and the ground gets deep and holding. That's a bit different from running on the last section of the Ascot track.

"A trainer friend I spoke to who had runners at Saint-Cloud on Friday said it was the worst ground he had ever seen and the track is on a hill a mile and a half up the road from Longchamp.

"If Stradivarius handles the ground he'll run a mighty race. However, he's never raced on such ground nor trained on it."

Owner Bjorn Nielsen, who had always hoped to run Stradivarius in the Arc, believes he has the speed to compete over this shorter trip.

"I'm just looking forward to it," said Nielsen. "This is one of the most prestigious races in the world and it's a privilege to have a horse capable of running. We'd like to think he has a good chance.

"He's taking on top horses, not least his stablemate, but he's shown up well over this trip and I don't think he has any problem with the pace of races run over that distance. He's handled soft ground before and hopefully the testing conditions could play to his strengths."

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