Oppenheimer unsure on Cracksman’s Arc chances

Horse Racing

Classy Cracksman repeats Champion success

Racing365
October 4, 2018 11:30 am

Owner Anthony Oppenheimer says Cracksman’s team will make a late call on his participation in Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The four-year-old is one of the top picks for the French Classic having already triumphed once at Longchamp this season when winning the Prix Ganay.

The John Gosden-trained colt followed up by landing the Coronation Cup at Epsom before coming up short at Royal Ascot in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, finishing runner-up to Poet’s Word.

Oppenheimer is hopeful of Cracksman returning to action in the Arc but admits a change in the weather forecast for the weekend means they will wait until the last minute to make a decision.

‘No-one has spoken to me to say that they have walked the course as yet,’ said Oppenheimer.

‘I’m told the ground is good at the moment, but I’ve also been told that it is fast.

‘There has been a change in the forecast which suggests there will be rain on Saturday evening and Sunday, but quite how much will fall is unclear.

‘It depends if it will be a few millimetres or quite a lot of rain, in either case it is leaving it late.

‘I know about the strip of fresh ground that has been saved for Sunday, but I can’t help wondering how wide it is and if everyone will make a beeline for it.

‘We’re just going to have to wait and see for a bit longer, I’m afraid.’