Ben Linfoot tipped two winners on Saturday including 8/1 chance Sea Silk Road in France - now check out his three tips for Sunday's action from ParisLongchamp.
The Verdict: Sunday, October 1
1pt win Rosallion in 1.15 Longchamp at 8/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair)
1pt win Hukum in 3.05 Longchamp at 6/1 (General)
1pt win Lumiere Rock in 3.50 Longchamp at 7/1 (bet365)
Hukum to land Arc glory in Paris
It’s the 102nd running of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday featuring 11 horses who have won at the top level including this year’s French Derby, King George, St Leger and Grand Prix de Paris winners, while Japan are represented by a mare who finished a neck second to the world’s highest-rated racehorse, Equinox, and Germany have a strong contender, too.
That’s without mentioning the likes of Westover and Bay Bridge, so we are dealing with a high-class renewal, although it might not be reminiscent of recent Arcs given the drying ground and the lack of any obvious pacemakers in the field.
Racing efficiently is going to be key and while Ace Impact is the one horse in the field who could tear them apart and win by over three lengths, he will likely have to settle better than he has on either of his last two starts if he is to get home on his first go at 1m4f.
It’s the one doubt about him at 3/1 and I would rather back Owen Burrows’ HUKUM at double those odds, as he has been racing at his absolute peak this season and he is the horse with the best form over the trip in this race.
The full-brother to Baaeed has come back from injury better than ever, displaying gears not previously seen when accounting for Derby winner Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard Staes over 10 furlongs on his comeback at Sandown, before he landed the King George after a superb tussle with Westover.
For all that Jim Crowley’s whip infringement dominated the fallout of that race in the aftermath, Hukum won the King George thanks in part to his straightforward nature, settling well, travelling the best and finding for pressure, traits that can help him overcome stall 14 on Sunday.
The apparent lack of an early gallop could help Crowley attain a position he’s happy with in the crucial first part of the race before they approach the turn for home, his 64-day break since Ascot looking a major positive for him considering his exceptional record off similar absences.
I wouldn’t be so sure the same absence will be in Westover’s favour, as he can be a headstrong colt who is reliable on a strong gallop and his best form has come off shorter breaks when he’s in the groove.
Hukum has all the attributes required to win this race and while he has to overcome the fact that no six-year-old has ever won the Arc, I can’t remember too many horses of that age group as good as him running in the race.
He can land a first Arc for Burrows, Crowley and Shadwell, following in the hoofprints of his sire, Sea The Stars, who won this race 14 years ago.
The Verdict: Back HUKUM in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
Two bets on the undercard
Frankie Dettori’s final Longchamp ride, on Kinross in the Prix de la Foret, and the chaos of the Prix de l’Abbaye dominate the undercard, but there are a couple of bets in the other races on Arc day that appeal.
First up is ROSALLION at 8/1 in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere for Richard Hannon.
The son of Blue Point looked a horse going places two starts ago when he bounded away with the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot from a strong field that has franked the form time in style subsequently.
Three subsequent winners have come out of the race – Al Musmak, who was also second in the Royal Lodge on Saturday, at Listed level, Alyanaabi, who won the Group 3 Tattersall Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday, and Dancing Gemini, who has won twice since including in the Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes at Doncaster.
That is strong form and Rosallion dismissed them with a brilliant display, before he failed to justify odds-on favouritism in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.
It looked like the bubble burst that day, but I’m inclined to forgive him as he was too keen after seven weeks off on the softest ground he has ever faced and I’d expect a much-improved display in the Lagardere.
It’s telling that Richard Hannon is prepared to unleash him at the top level just 15 days after that Doncaster reverse, likely persuaded by the drying ground, and he can land a race his father won with Olympic Glory in 2012.
Finally LUMIERE ROCK looked much improved in the cheekpieces last time out and she can go in again in the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera at 3.50.
Joseph O’Brien had witnessed his daughter of Saxon Warrior finish second three times this campaign before reaching for the headgear and the sheepskin had the desired effect straight away in the Group 2 Blandford Stakes last time out.
Gone was the weak finish as she powered away for a three-length success from a good field and she looks ready for the step back up to top-level company on the back of it.
Blue Rose Cen looks a filly worth taking on given her below-par runs on her last two starts and the selection ran market rival Jannah Rose to a head at Deauville in August when she didn’t have the assistance of the headgear.
The Verdict: Back ROSALLION and LUMIERE ROCK at Longchamp
Preview posted at 1550 BST on 30/09/23
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