Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) is looking certain
to attract a swollen field of 20 despite the presence of
Christopher Tsui’s SEA THE STARS (Cape Cross [Ire]) after
only five were withdrawn on Wednesday.
Most notable of the scratches was Susan Magnier and Diane Nagle’s four-time Gold
Cup (Eng-G1) winner Yeats (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), who is bound for the
same day’s Prix du Cadran (Fr-G1), while Khalid Abdullah’s Grand
Prix de Saint-Cloud (Fr-G1) and Prix Foy (Fr-G2) victor Spanish Moon (El Prado [Ire]) will wait for later international targets after Sir
Michael Stoute took out the five-year-old as expected.
There also will
be no ambitious Arc raid for triple Grade 1 winner Grand
Couturier (GB) (Grand Lodge) or Ecurie Wildenstein’s Prix de
Psyche (Fr-G3) winner and Prix Vermeille (Fr-G1) third Board Meeting (Anabaa), while Aidan O’Brien cut his team to four after
withdrawing Hail Caesar (Montjeu [Ire]) alongside Yeats.
That still leaves 19 entered for the highlight, but at least two
supplementary entries are expected as connections of the multiple Group 1 heroine
STACELITA (Monsun) and Grand Prix de Paris (Fr-G1) victor CAVALRYMAN (Halling) prepare to pay the
€100,000 fee. That would bring the ballot into play, but trainer
Alain de Royer-Dupre on Wednesday told the Racing Post that Lady
O’Reilly, the Moussac Family and Lucien Urano’s Prix Jean
Romanet (Fr-G1) winner Alpine Rose (Linamix) was likely to opt
for the Prix de l’Opera (Fr-G1) on the same program instead.
“My feeling is to run her in
the Opera, as I don’t want to harm her over one and a half miles
in the Arc,” the conditioner said.
That would
free Gerald Mosse for His Highness The Aga Khan’s Prix Niel (Fr-G2)
runner-up BEHESHTAM (Peintre Celebre).
One who will not be supplemented is Lady Bamford’s English (Eng-G1)
and Irish Oaks (Ire-G1) winner Sariska (Pivotal), after
connections opted to steer the homebred to the October 17 Champion S. (Eng-G1) at Newmarket.
“Sariska is not going to be supplemented
for the Arc,” trainer Michael Bell told the Racing Post. “It has got to start raining some time and the
Champion S. is very much on the agenda. It is very disappointing,
the owner was really looking forward to running but looking at
the weather forecast today is very much in the favor of horses
who want fast ground.”