Conditions do not favour Byzantine Dream, Alohi Alii and Croix Du Nord, giving André Fabre a great chance of ninth Arc with Cualificar
T
he first afternoon of this year’s Arc meeting unfolded in bright sunshine on Saturday, but the clods of turf being kicked up in the Group One Prix du Cadran were a sign of the significant rain that had fallen since Friday evening. This changes the shape and narrative of Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
“Proper soft and it’s going to take a lot of getting,” was the verdict of Dylan Browne McMonagle after his win on Tennessee Stud in the opening Prix Chaudenay. That was echoed by Tom Marquand, the Cadran winner aboard George Scott’s Caballo De Mar. “It’s very soft but not heavy,” he said. “It would be an injustice to call it heavy because they’ve done a really good job of having us on the nicest part of the track and tomorrow it will open out again to freshen it up, but it’s testing.”
For good or ill, the prospects of all 17 runners have been affected by the abrupt softening of the ground, but the most obvious losers are the three runners from Japan, bidding to succeed where 33 compatriots have failed over the past 56 years.
