Alex Hammond's latest blog including Arc contenders led by history-chasing Enable

There hasn’t been a great deal to celebrate in this strange year, but if Enable were to win a third Arc on Sunday and in the process being the first horse to do so, it would give us racing fans something to cheer - and cheer loudly. This time however we’ll have to do it from home and I'll be in the Sky Sports Racing studio, hosting the coverage with Jamie Lynch and Jason Weaver.

We are in a privileged position though in having our French racing expert Laurent Barbarin live at the track for us, which will help to convey some of the excitement of the most significant European all-aged middle distance Group 1 to you all. So while I will be watching from afar, Laurent will be bringing us all the latest news and views from connections at the stunning Hippodrome, and hopefully reaction to an incredible sporting achievement.

Like last year months ago, the question is who are the main dangers standing in her way? One of them may be Storm Alex (nothing to do with me, guv!). However, the downpour in Paris has already boosted Enable's prospects after her long-time market rival, Love, was withdrawn from the race on Thursday. Love has a ‘daisy cutter’ action which pretty much does what it says on the tin. It means her feet skim along the top of the ground and that sort of action isn’t conducive to soft conditions. She had been drifting in the market ever since the deluge arrived as a result.

It’s a shame she doesn’t take her place in the line-up, but it’s not worth taking a chance with an animal as talented and valuable as her and the Breeders’ Cup Turf is now her target.

The rain and resulting testing ground shouldn’t be a problem for In Swoop. I was working in the SSR studio on the day he made his debut back in May and after a lengthy chat between a (socially distanced) group of us in the office we concluded that this horse was worth a punt. He won his maiden (on soft ground) in eye-catching fashion that day and we’ve followed his every move since.

He subsequently won the German Derby and was an excellent second to Mogul in the Grand Prix de Paris on ground he wouldn’t have necessarily favoured. He’s a lovely colt and I wouldn’t dismiss his claims of running into a place, so each-way punters have been warned.

How will Frankie Dettori feel if his old mate Stradivarius comes slogging up the outside trying to reel him in in what will be a stamina-sapping contest? Well perhaps you don’t need me to answer that, but this is a race that favours strong stayers and there are none better at that than the wily old fiddle, who ran well in his trial when conditions were nowhere near as demanding.

Then we get on to Sottsass, last year’s French Derby winner - and there are positive noises coming from trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. Sottsass hasn’t set the world alight this year, but as last year’s Arc third he’s hard to rule out.

Serpentine has been added to the field at the handsome cost of 72,000 euros, although it’s fair to say his connections haven’t had to set up a Go Fund Me page to raise that sort of cash! He made all to win the Derby in sensational style in early July and no horse has successfully made all to win an Arc since Helissio back in 1996, albeit this fellow may not need to employ those tactics.

His stablemate Mogul hit the jackpot in the aforementioned Grand Prix de Paris three weeks ago and not before time. He looked like he’d just emerged from a decent lockdown when we saw him at Royal Ascot and whilst he is naturally ‘bonny’ it may have taken that long to get him shipshape. Granted he won at Goodwood this summer, but it was good to see him get the Group 1 that his pedigree deserves. In the absence of Love, he is now the mount of Ryan Moore and may well prove popular.

Raabihah is the only runner flying the flag for the three-year-old fillies and we know that the structure of this race suits that demographic. She will join stablemate Sottsass in the line-up after finishing runner-up in the Prix Vermeille on her first try at this trip last time out; she was given plenty to do that day and is another in the mix.

Frankie will be feeling the weight of expectation once again and will be keen to right the wrongs of 12 months ago. Realistically this is his last chance to do something truly incredible in our sport, although maybe in years to come we’ll still be talking about Dettori making racing history. Frankie’s teenage daughter Ella is showing considerable skill in the saddle and who knows what impact the name Dettori will still have in racing in the future?

In the shorter term though I would dearly love to see Enable make history and can’t put anything else up for the race... apart from maybe In Swoop each-way. I will gladly take second and, like most racing fans, dearly hope Enable can achieve a feat many would've called impossible.

Away from the Arc here are the horses I’m looking forward to seeing over the weekend.

Rab Havlin is super-sub at Ascot on Saturday where he will take advantage of Frankie’s French trip by getting the leg up on Logician in the Cumberland Lodge. Last year’s St Leger winner got back on track by winning a match at this year’s Leger Festival after a year off the track and whilst Frankie was a little downbeat after his winning return, the clock told us there was more to be excited about than first thought. He was big and burly that day and should strip fitter at Ascot. It’s all about next year for him though where there should be some top prizes to win.

The Challenge Cup (7f handicap) at Ascot on Saturday looks a corker with a couple of horses I’ve been waiting to see again. The progress of Storm Alex is a bit unpredictable (unlike your correspondent!) and the track may get a dump of rain on Friday. It’s battering north west France before heading over the channel to southern England.

This is actually good news for fans of Raising Sand who hasn’t been seen since finishing eighth in the Royal Hunt Cup as he hasn’t had his preferred soft ground since. He won this race off 97 in 2018 and on the face of it has a tough task off 10lb higher. However, trainer Jamie Osborne has booked his daughter Saffie to ride which means 7lbs off his back. Saffie is in the early stage of her race riding career, but has talent and has been around racehorses her whole life. She’s a world champion event rider and the 7lb she claims could be very helpful.

The straight track at Ascot and soft ground are the perfect combination for this lad and Shelir is another I want to keep on side. He’s been kept pretty busy this season, but may still have a bit more to offer off his current mark.

We haven’t seen Cape Byron since Champions Day last year and he is bidding to win the Bengough Stakes for the second successive year for Roger Varian. He’s won after a layoff in the past and adores Ascot. There's plenty to look forward to over a superb two days of racing. I’m off to Ascot Saturday, so hopefully you’ll join me for all the action there and from ParisLongchamp on both days of the weekend.