Three Irish raiders target Arc glory
Meet the contenders hoping to end an eight-year wait for an Irish winner
Friday, 04 October 2024
Los Angeles has been beaten to favouritism by home hopefuls Look De Vega and Sosie
It would be right up there with anything I have done before - Joseph O'Brien on what it would mean to win the Arc
Three Irish contenders have made the trip to Longchamp hoping to raid the iconic Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday.
Nine Group 1 winners make up the 16-strong field with this year’s renewal widely considered one of the most open and hardest to predict in modern times.
Aidan O’Brien fires two darts in the form of Irish Derby winner Los Angeles, who goes off as third favourite, and Continuous, who has already raced twice at the Paris venue including a fifth-place finish in last year’s Arc.
Al Riffa flies the flag for Joseph O’Brien in Europe’s premier middle-distance race, with the eldest son of Aidan seeking a maiden triumph in the race.
Los Angeles, racing back at his preferred 1m4f distance, appears to be Aidan O’Brien’s best hope of adding to his two previous Arc wins with Found and Dylan Thomas.
The strapping son of Camelot has won each of his previous two races with Ryan Moore on board – the Dubai Duty Irish Derby and the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes – and the pair reprise their partnership this weekend, with Los Angeles having been geared towards this race since his victory at the Curragh in June.
When asked whether the best is yet to come from Los Angeles, O'Brien replied: "We think so. He's a very big horse and he's improving physically. There's no doubt a mile and a half will be right up his alley.
“He won an Irish Derby right-handed like Longchamp and we've been very happy with his two preps for the Arc. Hopefully we've done as much as we can for him to run as well as he can.”
With City Of Troy targeted at the Breeders' Cup Classic and Auguste Rodin set to head straight to the Japan Cup, Los Angeles has been Ballydoyle's number-one Arc hope for a while according to O'Brien.
He said: "It's been the plan since the Irish Derby. We knew he could be a Leger horse at any time, but we had other horses for that race as well, so after the Irish Derby that was what we had in our heads.
“That's why we went to York to get a run into him, even though he had a penalty over a mile and a half, and then the plan was to come back to a mile and a quarter at Leopardstown.
“We were very happy with his run at Leopardstown. We were hoping that if he finished in the first four it would be good enough to run in the Arc and that's what he did.”
Continuous is ridden by France-based Belgian jockey Christophe Soumillon, who has twice conquered the Arc in 2003 and 2008.
The Heart’s Cry colt went off at 14/1 last year as the only Irish hopeful, emerging from the pack to place late on and he tuned up for this year’s instalment with a run to third in the Group 2 Qatar Prix Foy last month.
Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa has also had a Paris practice run this season, starting his campaign with the Prix du Ganay in April.
The four-year-old was last seen strolling to victory in Germany’s premier contest, the Grosser Preis von Baden, backing up an impressive run at Sandown where he was just a length behind City of Troy.
A change in ownership has prompted a new face in the saddle, with 55-year-old Japanese veteran jockey Yutaka Take bidding for his 2,684th career win and first in the Arc.
"If we were lucky enough to win it, it would be right up there with anything I have done before," said O’Brien.
"We always thought that he could be one for the Arc, even from last season we thought he had potential to run in the race. It was always in the back of my mind for quite sometime."
Other Irish hopefuls on Arc weekend include Kyprios, who is bidding to claim a second Prix du Cadran crown on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Henry de Bromhead’s Term of Endearment is the favourite in the Qatar Prix de Royallieu which includes five Irish raiders.
Then on Sunday, Johnny Murtagh fires Hanalia and Kevin Condon targets Moss Tucker at the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines while Ocean Jewel and Matilda Picotte star for Willie McCreery and Kieran Cotter in the Qatar Prix de la Foret Presente par Education Above All.
There is Irish Group 1 interest in Keeneland too, in the form of Dermot Weld’s Tarawa and Aidan O’Brien’s Mountain Bear.
Nine Group 1 winners make up the 16-strong field with this year’s renewal widely considered one of the most open and hardest to predict in modern times.
Aidan O’Brien fires two darts in the form of Irish Derby winner Los Angeles, who goes off as third favourite, and Continuous, who has already raced twice at the Paris venue including a fifth-place finish in last year’s Arc.
Al Riffa flies the flag for Joseph O’Brien in Europe’s premier middle-distance race, with the eldest son of Aidan seeking a maiden triumph in the race.
Los Angeles, racing back at his preferred 1m4f distance, appears to be Aidan O’Brien’s best hope of adding to his two previous Arc wins with Found and Dylan Thomas.
Meet the #GreenTeam Arc contenders 🙌
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) October 3, 2024
Los Angeles, Continuous and Al Riffa will go for glory at Longchamp on Sunday 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/uC52VBbZ4i
The strapping son of Camelot has won each of his previous two races with Ryan Moore on board – the Dubai Duty Irish Derby and the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes – and the pair reprise their partnership this weekend, with Los Angeles having been geared towards this race since his victory at the Curragh in June.
When asked whether the best is yet to come from Los Angeles, O'Brien replied: "We think so. He's a very big horse and he's improving physically. There's no doubt a mile and a half will be right up his alley.
“He won an Irish Derby right-handed like Longchamp and we've been very happy with his two preps for the Arc. Hopefully we've done as much as we can for him to run as well as he can.”
With City Of Troy targeted at the Breeders' Cup Classic and Auguste Rodin set to head straight to the Japan Cup, Los Angeles has been Ballydoyle's number-one Arc hope for a while according to O'Brien.
He said: "It's been the plan since the Irish Derby. We knew he could be a Leger horse at any time, but we had other horses for that race as well, so after the Irish Derby that was what we had in our heads.
“That's why we went to York to get a run into him, even though he had a penalty over a mile and a half, and then the plan was to come back to a mile and a quarter at Leopardstown.
“We were very happy with his run at Leopardstown. We were hoping that if he finished in the first four it would be good enough to run in the Arc and that's what he did.”
Continuous is ridden by France-based Belgian jockey Christophe Soumillon, who has twice conquered the Arc in 2003 and 2008.
The Heart’s Cry colt went off at 14/1 last year as the only Irish hopeful, emerging from the pack to place late on and he tuned up for this year’s instalment with a run to third in the Group 2 Qatar Prix Foy last month.
Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa has also had a Paris practice run this season, starting his campaign with the Prix du Ganay in April.
The four-year-old was last seen strolling to victory in Germany’s premier contest, the Grosser Preis von Baden, backing up an impressive run at Sandown where he was just a length behind City of Troy.
A change in ownership has prompted a new face in the saddle, with 55-year-old Japanese veteran jockey Yutaka Take bidding for his 2,684th career win and first in the Arc.
"If we were lucky enough to win it, it would be right up there with anything I have done before," said O’Brien.
"We always thought that he could be one for the Arc, even from last season we thought he had potential to run in the race. It was always in the back of my mind for quite sometime."
Other Irish hopefuls on Arc weekend include Kyprios, who is bidding to claim a second Prix du Cadran crown on Saturday.
Every Irish winner of the Arc 🇫🇷#GreenTeam #EveryRacingMoment
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) October 4, 2024
Elsewhere, Henry de Bromhead’s Term of Endearment is the favourite in the Qatar Prix de Royallieu which includes five Irish raiders.
Then on Sunday, Johnny Murtagh fires Hanalia and Kevin Condon targets Moss Tucker at the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines while Ocean Jewel and Matilda Picotte star for Willie McCreery and Kieran Cotter in the Qatar Prix de la Foret Presente par Education Above All.
There is Irish Group 1 interest in Keeneland too, in the form of Dermot Weld’s Tarawa and Aidan O’Brien’s Mountain Bear.