'We said if there's one race this season we want him to be bang on for, it's the Arc' - top trainers on their Longchamp contenders

It has been obvious for some time that three French-trained three-year-old colts boast strong claims of keeping the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at home. The problem for all three could be if the Classic crop is not good enough to house an Arc hero.

That intriguing opinion has been voiced by the greatest of all French trainers, Andre Fabre, whose Grand Prix de Paris and Prix Niel winner Sosie is joined by old rivals Look De Vega and Delius in an Arc that lacks a true superstar going into it – and might conceivably also lack one coming out of it.

Sosie finished third to Look De Vega in the Prix du Jockey Club but thrived for a longer trip at Longchamp in July and September. His prospects are obvious yet Fabre, the most successful trainer in Arc history with eight wins, has raised an unexpected concern.

"I was pleased with his prep race in the Niel because he won quite easily, but is it enough to win the Arc?" he said. "In any country I haven't seen any top-class three-year-olds, if you put aside City Of Troy, and I think he still has to prove a bit more. Of the others, they are all good but none is top class."

Andre Fabre: "He’s a big strong horse and wasn't really fit enough in the spring"Credit: Edward Whitaker

Despite that, Fabre is happy with Sosie. "He’s a big strong horse and wasn't really fit enough in the spring," he said, adding: "He's now coming nicely into form – but everybody improves with time."

Long-range supporters of Look De Vega might be worried he has regressed based on his underwhelming Niel third, but joint-trainer Yann Lerner is not concerned.

"He had to make the running, which isn't his usual style of racing," he said. "Furthermore, his jockey respected his mount, which meant he wasn't subjected to a hard race. I'm quite happy because we were able to use that race as a workout of sorts. 

"Even the day after the Niel you could see he was a different horse physically and last week he worked as well as he did before the Jockey Club. I also think he'll quicken in the same way over 2,400 metres as he does over 2,100 metres."

Last year's winning trainer Jean-Claude Rouget is represented by Coolmore's Delius, third and then second to Sosie over the Arc course and distance.

"He really pleased me in the Niel," said rider Ioritz Mendizabal. "He is in good shape and I'm confident he'll run well."

Emperor and Take on the cusp of immortality

They keep trying and they keep failing but often not by much. Will this be the year when Japan's quest for Arc glory is finally realised?

It was in 1969 that Speed Symboli became Japan's first Arc runner but it was 25 years ago the dream of winning Europe's most prestigious Flat race was truly ignited. El Condor Pasa became the first of three Japanese horses to finish second, with Nakayama Festa in 2010 and Orfevre two years later going desperately close to immortality. Add in the fact Orfevre also took runner-up honours in 2013 and Deep Impact passed the post in third when hugely fancied in 2006, and it's fair to say Japan has suffered its fair share of Arc heartbreak.

Yoshito Yahagi, now firmly established as one of the world's top trainers following a series of high-profile international victories, is charged with righting many wrongs, and he sends Irish Champion Stakes third Shin Emperor, who must have a big shout under Ryusei Sakai. 

"He looks in better form than when I last saw him in Ireland," said Yahagi. "He wasn’t in the best shape heading to Ireland and I thought it would be a very tough ask. Despite that, he ran third, which is very encouraging. 

"All Japanese love the Arc and I've been dreaming about this race for 50 years. I'm very emotional to be here and preparing a runner."

Emotions would also run high if Al Riffa were to win under Yutaka Take. At the age of 55, one of Japan's leading sporting celebrities has his tenth Arc mount aboard an improver who after chasing home City Of Troy in the Eclipse proved his liking for a mile and a half when dominating in a German Group 1. 

The Joseph O'Brien-trained four-year-old's credentials are obvious yet some punters will feel his chance has been compromised by new principal owner Masaaki Matsushima's decision to book Take, whose love-hate relationship with the Arc began 30 years ago when his performance on White Muzzle prompted a significant rise in trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam's blood pressure.

O'Brien, whose international triumphs have included two Melbourne Cups and a Cox Plate, said: "At the start of this year we said if there is one race we want him to be bang on for, it's the Arc. 

"He's very versatile when it comes to ground, he has speed and bundles of stamina in his pedigree. It's the Arc, so we know he will need a career-best to win, but he has a realistic chance of running very well."

Los Angeles bids to break new ground for O'Brien

If Los Angeles is to give Aidan O'Brien a third Arc, he will need to succeed where a number of exalted stable stars have failed.

Found led home a one-two-three for his trainer in 2016, nine years after Dylan Thomas scraped home under Kieren Fallon. Both those galloped to glory as four-year-olds. A measure of how hard it is to bank an Arc is that O'Brien has yet to do so with a three-year-old.

Continuous, who returns to Longchamp under Christopher Soumillon, was the last to try, finishing fifth last season. Previous Ballydoyle three-year-old colts who came up short include Derby winners High Chaparral, Camelot and Ruler Of The World, while Scorpion, Fame And Glory, Kew Gardens, Japan and Luxembourg were all beaten.

O'Brien, who described stall ten for Los Angeles and 14 for Continuous as "wider than ideal", said: "All is well with both of them and they've done well in the last week or two.

"The Arc has been the plan for Los Angeles since the Irish Derby. We were very happy with his run at Leopardstown. We were hoping if he finished in the first four it would be good enough to run in the Arc, and that's what he did. He's been very good since Leopardstown and his work has been as good as we could have expected.

"Continuous ran well in the race last year and it didn't suit him having to make his own running in the Foy. He will be much better in a stronger run race."

Bluestocking leads small but select British challenge

Juddmonte and Ralph Beckett have joined forces with great credit in the last two Arcs, combining with Westover to finish sixth in 2022 and then second 12 months ago. They seek to make it third time lucky with last month's Prix Vermeille winner Bluestocking.

Rossa Ryan will once again steer a four-year-old enjoying a productive campaign at the highest level that has also yielded success in the Pretty Polly Stakes, a second in the King George and fourth in York's International sponsored by an operation whose family silks were carried to six Arc triumphs during founder Khalid Abdullah's lifetime.

Bluestocking lands the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh under Rossa RyanCredit: Patrick McCann

"When we sit down early in the season, the first question Prince Saud asks is about what we've got for the Derby and Arc," said Juddmonte racing manager Barry Mahon, who was encouraged by what Bluestocking accomplished three weeks ago.

"The time of the Vermeille was a good bit quicker than the Niel. On that basis she should be competitive and she also ran a good race at York on ground and over a trip that wasn't her optimum. I think that all puts her bang in the mix, and the draw gives Rossa options, so we're definitely going there with genuine aspirations. The one unknown is it's only three weeks since her last race, and until she runs we won't know if the Vermeille has left an effect on her, but everything tells us her she's ready to go again."

Similarly upbeat, Beckett said: "We know she likes Longchamp and the draw and ground will be fine for her. I'm very hopeful she'll be in the mix."

Completing an unusually small British challenge is Irish Derby second and St Leger third Sunway, who begins from stall 15 under Oisin Murphy for Saturday's Sun Chariot Stakes-winning trainer David Menuisier.

"He's not got the best draw but I'm not that bothered," said Menuisier. "Maybe Oisin can do a Golden Horn and go straight before coming over to just sit off the pace."

What they say

Jerome Reynier, trainer of Zarakem
He worked at Marseille-Borely racecourse under Cristian Demuro with the hood and adapted well to the headgear. I hope there's some pace on, like there was at Royal Ascot, and he can show his turn of foot at the end. You can throw out his York run.

Adrien Fouassier, trainer of Haya Zark
Everything has gone well, I'd just like to see some rain. William Buick will be on board for the first time and, while the horse can be a bit emotional, he is a straightforward ride as long as he doesn't pull.

Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten, syndicate manager for Liberty Racing, owners of Fantastic Moon
If the weather gods are with us we'll run. We hope for 3.5 on the penetromer but if it is softer than 3.6 we won't run. Rene Piechulek knows him well and I love the stall two draw.

Andre Fabre, trainer of Sevenna's Knight and Mqse De Sevigne
I'm very fond of Sevenna's Knight. Every drop of rain will help him. Mqse De Sevigne has never been further than a mile and a quarter but she now has the opportunity to run over further, which I think will help her. I would have preferred another draw for her but, over a mile and a half, if there is some pace, it's not much of a concern.

Nicolas Clement, trainer of Survie
We're putting a line through her run in the Vermeille. We know she's one of the leading three-year-old fillies in France. She's well drawn and has been pleasing me in the morning.

Christophe Ferland, trainer of Aventure
Everything has gone well since the Vermeille. Stephane Pasquier knows her well and has won a Group 2 on her. She's in great shape and well drawn, so everything is in her favour.

Read more on the Arc:

2024 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runners, tips and ratings: David Jennings' pinstickers' guide 

There's a group of horses who are always underestimated in open Arcs like this one  

'He's sure to give it a go at a big price' - Tom Segal's Arc day advice after an 11-2 Saturday winner 

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