Snowfall in Paris would be welcome sight for O’Brien

Fillies and mares promise to play leading role in Arc to savour.

A vintage renewal of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe may yet transpire as a battle between a brilliant battalion of fillies and mares – and if so Aidan O’Brien has ensured he is eminently represented.

His outstanding Oaks winners Snowfall and Love will bid to follow in the famous hoofprints of superstar females of previous generations in ParisLongchamp’s global event on Sunday.

To do so, not only will they have to outdo Charlie Appleby’s Godolphin colts Adayar and Hurricane Lane but also two mares vying for a strong market share too in Dermot Weld’s Tarnawa and the pride of Japan, Chrono Genesis.

Snowfall, imperious as she was throughout the summer with her dominant victories in the Epsom, Irish and Yorkshire Oaks, returns to Paris to restate her case after her shock defeat over course and distance in the Prix Vermeille.

Love will have more to prove still – specifically both that she can be effective on the anticipated soft ground which scuppered her intended Arc challenge 12 months ago, and that she can recapture the form which made her too a dual Classic winner last year but has ebbed away against the best this term.

O’Brien, who will also saddle Prix Foy runner-up Broome, is confident there is good reason to anticipate Snowfall will put last month’s disappointment behind her.

“She ran well (in the Vermeille),” he said.

“It was a slowly-run race and Frankie (Dettori) was kind on her.

“Last time Frankie rode her (at Epsom) it was a strongly-run race in soft ground. This was a slowly-run race on quickish ground, so it was a completely different set of circumstances.”

Snowfall, who will be ridden this time by stable jockey Ryan Moore, was a long odds-on favourite but could finish only a length-and-a-half runner-up behind Roger Varian’s Teona – who was on course for the rematch until her trainer decided conditions would be too testing this weekend.

O’Brien added: “We were delighted with her run and we were delighted that we ran her, because we saw how she behaved on better ground on a track like Longchamp – and that is always an advantage before a big race.

“She hasn’t done a lot of hard work since the Vermeille, but everybody who rides her at home has been very happy with her since her last run.

“Soft ground catches out some horses, but it doesn’t catch her out.

“Obviously she acts on it, given what she did at Epsom. I think she’s ground independent – I don’t think it really matters too much.”

Love’s career record suggests the same comment may not apply to her.

But O’Brien said: “We’ve been happy. She won first time out at Ascot in a very big race which is difficult to win first time out.

“The next two times the tempo of the races didn’t really suit her, but she still ran two very good races.”

Frankie Dettori is set to ride Love for the first time on Sunday
Frankie Dettori is set to ride Love for the first time on Sunday (Mike Egerton/PA)

Love, set to be ridden for the first time by Dettori, failed by the narrowest of margins to win at Group Two level at the Curragh last month.

O’Brien said: “She was giving a lot of weight, 10lb, to a filly rated 110 – so we were very happy with that. She wasn’t beaten very far – she was just caught on the line.”

Tarnawa will arrive with compelling credentials, having won the Prix de l’Opera over two furlongs shorter than the Arc’s mile and a half on the same card in 2020, then followed up in the Breeders’ Cup Turf a month later.

In a light campaign so far as a five-year-old, she most recently finished a three-quarter-length second to Ballydoyle’s subsequently-retired superstar St Mark’s Basilica in the Irish Champion Stakes.

Her trainer reports preparation has gone to plan as she too seeks an Irish victory, in the famous multiple Arc-winning colours of the Aga Khan.

“Tarnawa is well and all set,” said Weld.

“She has come out of the race (in Leopardstown) fine. It was just a pity that she had to end up on such firm ground, but I’m satisfied with her.”

Chrono Genesis is the most obvious of two very credible challengers to pull off the victory Japan craves in Paris.

Trained by Takashi Saito, she was beaten just a neck by the mighty Mishriff in the Sheema Classic in March – and in just one start since, took her top-level tally to four back on home soil in the Takarazuka Kinen.

She will be ridden by dual British champion Oisin Murphy for the first time, and Saito has high hopes of making history for Japan.

He said: “Is the Arc the best event in the world? Yes – I recognise that it is a world event.

“Whenever I have a horse in the Group One, it runs because I do believe it has a chance.

“The owners of Chrono Genesis have trusted me, and it is a great honour to be working with this mare.”

Deep Bond, who beat Broome in last month’s Prix Foy, also represents Japan.

His trainer Ryuji Okubo said: “I think he will deliver the same or a similar performance to the Prix Foy.

“There have been plenty of Japanese runners in the Arc, and we have had lots of second places, but it’s a big wish of mine to win the race.”

British-based trainers William Haggas and Richard Hannon will not be able to make the same claim that they are breaking new ground for their country if either Alenquer wins for the former or Mojo Star for the latter.

Both colts have performed with great credit against their acclaimed contemporaries Adayar and Hurricane Lane this summer.

Mojo Star is a dual Classic runner-up for his trouble – while Alenquer, who beat Adayar in a Classic trial, is also a Royal Ascot winner.

Both are expected to relish the forecast soft ground, and Haggas gave an upbeat bulletin on Alenquer.

The Newmarket trainer said: “He’s fine. It’s a very tough race, but he’s perfectly entitled to be there.

Alenquer and Tom Marquand were Royal Ascot winners in the King Edward VII Stakes
Alenquer and Tom Marquand were Royal Ascot winners in the King Edward VII Stakes (Steven Paston/PA)

“I think the trip and the track will suit – certainly the trip will – and any rain won’t do him any harm.

“Some might not want the rain. But he’ll be better for it, so it’s not a concern.”

ParisLongchamp success for Hannon’s Marlborough yard dates back to his father Richard senior’s days in charge, when Assessor won the 1993 Prix du Cadran.

Mojo Star must outrun big odds to add the Arc to the stable’s cabinet.

Hannon senior said: “It’s a hot race, all right. But we’re drawn one, so that’s not too bad – and he won’t mind the ground.

“He’ll go on anything, but a bit of give in the ground certainly won’t harm for him.

“It’d be great if he could get placed – but the one thing he’s got is stamina.

Mojo Star is a dual Classic runner-up
Mojo Star is a dual Classic runner-up (John Walton/PA)

“So from that draw he can bring that into play, and we’ll just see where it gets him.”

The home challenge this year, meanwhile, is just four-strong – with Jean-Claude Rouget’s Shadwell filly Raabihah most prominent in the betting.

Raabihah was an honourable fifth in the 2020 edition, and Rouget said: “The reason the filly stayed in training at the age of four was because of her good run in last year’s Arc.

“We wanted to give her the chance to win it this year.”

The longer Prix de Royallieu, which takes place on Saturday, emerged as an alternative ParisLongchamp option, but Rouget has decided to revert to Plan A.

“There will be runners in the race who have had busy seasons, unlike her, and we will count on her being fresh,” he added.

“She won’t be among the favourites but we are hoping her freshness is in her favour.”

Follow us on Twitter racing365dotcom and like our Facebook page.

Latest