'He's beginning to reach maturity' - Sosie deposes Look De Vega as Arc favourite with stylish Niel display

Was that the sound of a reputational balloon deflating you could hear across the vast expanses of the Longchamp straight? Or was it the unmistakable sign of Look De Vega demanding a large gulp of air at the furlong pole at the end of what was a race designed to help advance him to a peak in the Arc?

Your answer to that will determine whether you consider the Prix du Jockey Club winner's laboured third place in the Prix Niel behind Sosie, who has now replaced him as Arc favourite at no bigger than 5-1, holds out hope that the form can be turned around in three weeks' time. 

The reaction of bookmakers in nudging the previously unbeaten Look De Vega out to 6-1 (from a general 7-2) suggests the odds compilers have seen this movie before, though admittedly it has often been Sosie's trainer Andre Fabre that has left room to improve come the Arc. 

With Augustus a non-runner, and thus his intended pacemaker Wintertraum dropped in to be ridden for the best he could manage, the Niel became a complete mess, with Ronan Thomas forced to make the running on Look De Vega. 

Those inclined to a charitable view of his run might have had more to cling to had he held off Delius for second, while Jean-Claude Rouget's representative finished a good deal closer to Sosie than he did in the Grand Prix de Paris. Is Delius improving? Was Sosie also some way short of concert pitch? If you have a mystical talent for decoding Arc trials, now would be a good time to call. 

None of which should detract from a thoroughly professional performance from Sosie, who has done more than enough to suggest he will be a major factor in the Arc around a track he would eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner if that were on the menu Chez Fabre. 

"We're delighted," said Pierre-Yves Bureau, racing manager for Sosie's owners Wertheimer et Frere. "We came here knowing he stayed the trip and that he adores Longchamp; this is his third win here. He's a horse who is really beginning to reach maturity.

"The question was how he would measure up to Look De Vega, but Maxime [Guyon] just rode his own race and Sosie really picked up and ran all the way to the line. He's a very calm horse with a good temperament and that will stand him in good stead for the Arc."

Ronan Thomas and Look De Vega return after finishing third in the Prix NielCredit: Racing Post/Burton

Yann Lerner, joint-trainer of Look De Vega, said: "We wanted him to get a good start, knowing it could turn into a tactical race. 

"I wanted them to go an even gallop because I knew my horse was quite a long way off his fighting weight from the Jockey Club, for all that we’ve been working him since he came back from his break. He was a long way off top form and he needed a proper race to be in the best shape for three week’s time.

"Ronan said he thought he and Sosie were going to have a good fight to the line and then 200 metres out he got tired."

Lerner added: "Speaking afterwards we are all in agreement that there is a lot more to come, and you need the horse to peak on the big day. We were huge favourites today and got beaten but in three weeks' time we’ll have him ready."

The mind goes back exactly 20 years to Bago finishing third in the Niel on his first try at a mile and a half, after which many concluded he had been beaten for stamina, only for Jonathan Pease to produce him in exceptional shape on the day that mattered most. 

Time will tell whether the Lerners can pull off a similar trick. Meanwhile Sosie continues to make the hard things look easy. 

Champion Stakes option for ageless Iresine

Two wins now from four starts in the Prix Foy for Iresine and Marie VelonCredit: Racing Post/Burton

Iresine lined up in the Prix Foy for the fourth straight year and showed that the miles have yet to catch up with him at the age of seven as he landed the prize for a second time under Marie Velon.

"The options for him in Europe are the Champion Stakes or the Prix du Conseil de Paris, which is at a track he adores," said winning trainer Jean-Pierre Gauvin. "For the Champion Stakes he would need the ground to be heading towards heavy."

Read these next:

'It would be nice to have another go' - Bluestocking halved in price for the Arc after landing red-hot running of the Prix Vermeille 

'Odds of 12-1 are too big' - our experts have their say on an open Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 

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