Leading Light to be supplemented for Arc

Leading Light will cut back in trip after his St Leger heroics (Courtesy of Doncaster Racecourse via Twitter)

Aidan O’Brien Monday confirmed that St Leger winner Leading Light will be
supplemented for Sunday’s Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.
Despite the presence of the Epsom Derby hero Ruler of the World, Camelot and
Kingsbarns in the line-up, Ballydoyle has opted to swell its ranks to four for
the showpiece.

“Leading Light obviously hasn’t done a lot since Doncaster, as it’s not that
long ago, but everything he’s done we’ve been happy with and I think we’re going
to supplement him,” the conditioner explained. “Then obviously we’ll get closer
to the weekend and see what the ground is like, because Camelot would only run
if it was good or better.”

In other Arc news on Monday, John Deer’s Al Kazeem is on course after
delighting in a workout with his Group 1 Prix de l’Opera-bound stable companion
Thistle Bird. Trainer Roger Charlton gave an upbeat bulletin on the
five-year-old, whose successes in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Prince of Wales’s
and Eclipse Stakes have preceded defeats in the Juddmonte International and
Irish Champion.

“They both worked well on Saturday morning over eight furlongs on our summer
gallops, which are in fantastic condition,” he said. “Although Al Kazeem has had
some tough races and on ground faster than he would have preferred, from what I
can see he still retains his enthusiasm and his speed figures compared well on
Saturday morning with his work before both the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and the
Eclipse.

“The Arc will be his seventh race of the season, but only his 15th race
spread over four seasons. It is never an exact science to know whether a horse
has gone over the top or about to produce another high-class performance, but
the vibes are good.”