Sunday is Arc day in Paris, meaning no less than six Group Ones to get stuck into. Enable goes for her third Arc at her fourth attempt after getting outstayed in the mud last year, but the ground will be potentially even worse this time and it might be a tough day for favourites.
7f Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Grand Criterium) (Group 1) (2yo C&F) (New Course: 2nd Post) (Turf) (2yo)
Five runners and not the deepest Group One, so SEALIWAY has to have a nice chance at 5/1. He’ll have received a French prep with this his big target and doesn’t have to improve much to land this. Nando Parrado sets the standard with his Prix Morny second and will be a tough nut to crack, but he has to prove he stays and isn’t the scariest of odds-on favourites. The rest look bang average.
1pt win Sealiway @5/1, 13:15 Longchamp, Sunday
1m Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac – Criterium des Pouliches (Group 1) (2yo Fillies) (Grande Course) (Turf) (2yo)
The one I like is Andre Fabre’s Japanese-bred HARAJUKU at 10/1. By Deep Impact and out of a Galileo mare, she has a purple pedigree and should stay further than this mile trip. Her last run – only the second of her life – arguably places her as the second best juvenile filly in France and I fancy her to handle soft ground better than her conqueror in that race, King’s Harlequin, who is shorter in the betting. The other one who caught the eye was LA JONCTION, who has collateral form with the other French horses and won both her starts to date – including one on bad ground – with relative ease. With heavy ground this is wide open and 20/1 seems far too big.
1pt win HaraJuku @10/1, 13:50 Longchamp, Sunday
1pt win La Jonction @20/1, 13:50 Longchamp, Sunday
1m2f Prix de l’Opera Longines (Group 1) (3yo+ Fillies & Mares) (Grande Course) (Turf) (3yo+)
Another race with a short priced favourite, Alpine Star, who has run some excellent races this season but not yet truly proven this is her trip. She has a big chance from stall four and is only taken on because there looks to be more value in the each-way market, with four places on offer. Audarya showed huge improvement to win a Group One last time out, beating Saturday’s Sun Chariot Stakes winner Nazeef on very soft ground, and appeals at 14/1 – for all that form is a little suspect. I’ll be backing TICKLE ME GREEN with French ace Pierre-Charles Boudot on board because she’s over three times the price of second favourite Tawkeel yet only a neck separated them earlier in the season, and I suspect this daughter of Sea The Moon will cope with heavy ground better than most. Her three-year-old allowance will help a lot as it’s generous for this time of year and three-year-olds have won eight out of the last ten renewals, with three-year-olds filling the first three places three seasons in a row. For that reason she’s preferred over Audarya.
1pt each-way Tickle Me Green @14/1, 15:50 Longchamp, Sunday