Arc de Triomphe final field and draw information as 16 horses declared for ParisLongchamp feature

Drawn in stall three, the Ralph Beckett-trained Bluestocking was supplemented for the Group One spectacular on Wednesday at a cost of €120,000 for owners Juddmonte, having landed the Prix Vermeille over the Arc course and distance last month.

David Menuisier’s Sunway was a winner at the highest level as a juvenile but has failed to hit similar heights this term, most recently finishing third in the St Leger, and will have to contend with an outside draw in 15.

Prix du Jockey Club victor Look De Vega (eight) is at the head of the betting, despite suffering defeat at the hands of the reopposing Sosie (five) in the Prix Niel when last seen.

The latter is one of three contenders for trainer Andre Fabre with Mqse De Sevigne, winner of each of her four starts this term including three successive Group Ones, and Sevenna’s Knight also taking part.

Mqse De Sevigne will race from widest of all in stall 16 and Sevenna’s Knight will be in 12.

Aidan O’Brien is represented by Irish Derby victor Los Angeles (10) and last year’s Leger hero Continuous (14), but has taken out Auguste Rodin and Luxembourg. His son Joseph fields Al Riffa (nine), winner of a German Group One last time out.

The Yoshito Yahagi-trained Shin Emperor (11) is the latest Japanese runner to bid for Arc glory, with Delius, Aventure, Fantastic Moon, Zarakem, Survie and Haya Zark completing the field.

2024 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe draw

1. Zarakem
2. Fantastic Moon
3. Bluestocking
4. Aventure
5. Sosie
6. Survie
7. Delius
8. Look De Vega
9. Al Riffa
10. Los Angeles
11. Shin Emperor
12. Sevenna's Knight
13. Haya Zark
14. Continuous
15. Sunway
16. Mqse De Sevigne

Fantastic Moon’s Arc bid hinges on suitable ground

Connections will wait until the eleventh hour to give Fantastic Moon’s bid for the Arc the go-ahead.

The four-year-old, who is trained by Sarah Steinberg, is Germany’s leading racehorse with six Group titles to his name for owners Liberty Racing.

Those include successes in the German Derby and the Prix Niel last year, the former seeing him emulate his sire, Sea The Moon, and the latter lining up a bid for the 2023 renewal of the Arc.

Twelve months ago the ground at ParisLongchamp was good to soft, conditions a little too testing for the bay colt to be seen at his best as he finished 11th in a field of 15.

He has returned this season in good form, however, winning a Group Two at Cologne before missing out on the Group One Grosser Dallmayr-Preis by a length at Munich.

After winning the Grosser Preis von Baden on his next start the Arc came into focus again for Fantastic Moon, but with a wet start to the autumn his participation is not guaranteed unless the ground dries out ahead of Sunday.

“At this moment it is 50-50, we will wait for the ground on Sunday morning,” said Liberty Racing’s Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten.

“We hope for for 3.5 on the French going stick, more than 3.6 is not good for him to bring his A-game so if the ground is more than 3.6, we will not run.

“We will decide on Sunday morning, if we get rain on Sunday we will wait to decide, perhaps after the first race or the second race.

“We will wait a very, very long time to decide because it’s a very good Arc, we have a great horse in the race and we need fair ground for him.

“It is possible because we have sun Friday and Saturday as well, if we do not get rain it is possible, I think 50-50.

“If not we will go to the Breeders’ Cup Turf, that’s our plan B.”

Sosie and Aventure bidding to emulate Arc angel Solemia

To have a contender for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is every Frenchman’s wish – so to have two is a dream.

Now Sosie and Aventure are entrusted with fulfilling that ambition and adding the Wertheimer name to France’s most famous trophy once again.

The family’s blue and white silks are synonymous not only with French racing, but thanks to their legion of stars down the decades – see the great Goldikova – they have also been a familiar sight on a global stage.

The current custodians of the colours, brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, saw their Carlos Laffon-Parias-trained Solemia break Japanese hearts in 2012, and 12 years on have an outstanding chance of again adding their name to the record books with their two-pronged attack, led by Sosie.

Trained by the Arc’s master trainer Andre Fabre, the Prix du Jockey Club runner-up has excelled at ParisLongchamp when claiming the Grand Prix de Paris and then lowering the colours of French Derby conqueror Look De Vega in the Prix Niel.

That sent the son of Sea The Stars right to the top of the bookmakers’ lists for Europe’s richest middle-distance contest and connections hope his experience in the French capital can prove an unbeatable strength on Sunday afternoon.

“Not all horses are used to Longchamp, but he knows the track and it is definitely a plus for him,” said Wertheimer racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau.

“In my mind he is the best three-year-old French colt at this distance at the moment, so it will be very interesting to see if he can be competitive and be the best on Sunday.

“He’s being called one of the favourites, but in my mind five or six horses could be favourite. It is a very competitive race and yes he has a good chance but I think it is very open.”

If Sosie’s Arc credentials speak for themselves, then it is also easy to see why the Wertheimer and Frere team were keen for Christophe Ferland’s filly Aventure to take her place in Arc line-up.

Winner of the Prix de Royaumont and Prix de Pomone over the Arc trip this season, she was last seen pushing Bluestocking all the way in the Prix Vermeille.

“I think she ran very well in the Vermeille and has won two Group races this year over a mile and a half so she loves the distance,” continued Bureau

“We thought about the l’Opera, but we decided that might be a bit short for her and it was worth taking a chance against the colts in the big race. It is all related to the mile and a half that she needs.”

With one of France’s leading owner-breeding operations and also their names above the door of Paris institution the House Of Chanel, the Wertheimer brothers are at the heart of French culture.

It is therefore somewhat fitting if they rule the roost in the capital this weekend, a victory that would be the result of meticulous work behind the scenes of a racing powerhouse ready to return to the top of the sport.

“It’s a very long and old breeding operation and, being based in France, when you do the matings and everything, it is always about trying to have horses go to the big races like the Arc,” added Bureau.

“To have two runners in the Arc with good chances means a lot for the whole team, but now they have to make their arrival. It is a result of all the hard work of all the organisation so a good result would be important.”

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