Nearly €150m (£132m) has been spent redeveloping the stands and facilities here since this historic course last staged a Group One race but the view towards the Eiffel Tower – across a home straight as wide as a runway – was flawless already and so it remains. Cracksman, the Champion Stakes winner last season, filled it magnificently on Sunday as he routed his field in the Prix Ganay and it was easy to picture him doing the same this autumn if he returns to line up for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Cloth Of Stars, last year’s Ganay winner and then runner-up behind Enable, Cracksman’s stable companion, in last year’s Arc, had been expected to give John Gosden’s colt a serious test. André Fabre’s runner was race-fit from two starts already this year and had a pacemaker in Wren’s Day to give Mickael Barzalona, his jockey, a target in the home straight.
As it turned out it was Frankie Dettori, on Cracksman, who settled a couple of lengths behind Wren’s Day as Cloth Of Stars was caught towards the rear from an early stage. Dettori was able to choose his moment to strike in the straight and, though Cracksman took a few strides to go through the gears, he soon swept into a decisive lead as Cloth Of Stars set off in forlorn pursuit.
Cloth Of Stars could not even pass his pacemaker as Cracksman crossed the line four lengths to the good and nearly five in front of Cloth Of Stars. That was roughly twice the margin that Enable enjoyed in the Arc at Chantilly last October, and the potential head‑to‑head between the two Gosden runners in five months’ time promises to be the biggest race of the European season.
“Frankie was pleased with him,” Gosden said. “We felt that come the straight, we’d get balanced and organised and go, and I was thrilled when he passed me around the furlong pole as he got very low and stretched, which is a great thing to see in a horse.
“The great thing is he’s won today on good [ground], and perhaps slightly on the faster side of good, and he can go on the soft, so he’s versatile. Mentally I was impressed with just how relaxed and professional he is. It would be marvellous if they are both in top order to come here for the Arc. It would be a dream come true for all of us.”
Cracksman’s next race could be the Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh before a possible run in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, while Enable is expected to begin her season in the Coronation Cup at Epsom in early June. “I knew that he stays a mile and a half and I didn’t want it to turn into a sprint,” Dettori said. “I was surprised by the pacemaker. It took me a furlong to get past him but from then it was great. He gave me a good feel and he’s stronger.
Salisbury 2.00 My Dear Friend 2.30 Glory Of Paris 3.05 Miniature Daffodil 3.40 Pretty Jewel 4.15 Seasearch 4.45 Beyeh (nap) 5.15 Briac
Wolverhampton 2.10 Rasima 2.40 Pepys 3.15 Tivoli (nb) 3.50 Noneedtotellme 4.25 Mootasadir 4.55 Sky Eagle 5.25 Chloellie
Thirsk 1.50 Bibbidibobbidiboo 2.20 Redrosezorro 2.55 Picks Pinta 3.30 Tamkeen 4.05 Muscika 4.35 Rotherhithe 5.05 Odds On Oli 5.35 Trautmann
Windsor 5.10 Brockey Rise 5.40 Blown By Wind 6.10 Flowing Clarets 6.40 Definition 7.10 Past Master 7.40 Petitioner 8.10 Colourfield
Southwell 5.20 Mimram 5.50 Dancing On A Dream 6.20 Face Like Thunder 6.50 Red Touch 7.20 Coiste Bodhar 7.50 Litigation 8.20 Sleep Easy
Tips by Greg Wood.
“It’s the first Group One of the season and he’s one of my best horses, so of course I feel nervous and I’ve got great expectation. Until it actually happens you don’t know what’s going to happen, so it’s a relief and he’s got a fantastic season ahead of him.”
The Ganay was the feature event on an afternoon when the track officially started its new life as ParisLongchamp after a two-year redevelopment. Only time will tell whether the track’s new name will catch on with the racegoing public but the thousands of British and Irish racing fans who travel to the Arc in October will certainly find a very different course awaiting them in the Bois de Boulogne.
The vast, twin grandstands that looked out over Longchamp for half a century have gone, replaced by a single, layered and consciously lop-sided structure with a top tier that extends significantly beyond the floor below.
Most of the trees that were a much-loved feature of the old public enclosures have been preserved – in fact, several have had the new structure built incorporated into the new stand – and while the colour scheme of yellow and gold may not appeal to everyone, it has apparently been designed to look its best amid the tints and hues of autumn. The first Sunday in October is the day that matters most and, if the Arc pits Cracksman against Enable, few will have eyes for anything but the action on the track.
