A mild-mannered war of words continued on Tuesday in the build-up to Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as it was the turn of Golden Horn to have his credentials doubted. The Derby winner’s owner, Anthony Oppenheimer, had suggested on Monday evening that his horse would beat Treve “easily” on a fast surface but the mare’s jockey offered a spiky response.
“I’m not so sure about that,” said Thierry Jarnet, who has partnered Treve to success in the last two Arcs. “When I saw his last race, I was not that impressed.”
That was a reference to the Irish Champion, which Golden Horn was controversially allowed to keep, despite swerving so suddenly across the track in the closing stages that he ended the challenge of Free Eagle, eventually third. Jarnet is not alone in harbouring doubts about what might have happened without that interference but Golden Horn still has his supporters for Sunday and shortened to 5-1 from 7s on Tuesday.
“Yes, he wins like a good horse, like a tough horse, but now he has run many times already this season and we will see if the Arc might not be one race too many for him,” Jarnet continued. “However, he is a very good horse.”
Jarnet was speaking after partnering Treve in her final serious piece of work, which appears to have gone smoothly. Her trainer, Criquette Head-Maarek, said: “My impression is good. She is well, she was not pulling, she was very relaxed. The pacemaker was going a good pace and she came very easy. Thierry thinks she is in top form, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
Twenty horses were left in the Arc at Tuesday’s entry stage, Jack Hobbs and Eagle Top being the only two British-based entrants. Their trainer, John Gosden, is expected to add Golden Horn on Thursday for a supplementary fee of €120,000.
It could be argued that the forgotten horse of the race is Erupt, who, at 33-1 for the Arc, is now twice the odds that were offered immediately after he won the Grand Prix de Paris in July. He was a well beaten fourth in the Prix Niel on his only run since but Alan Cooper, speaking for the owning Niarchos family, feels there may have been a reason for that.
“If you take the Niel form at face value, that might be a bit unfair,” he said. “The ground that day was very heavy and he had had a two-month absence. He’s come on a lot for that.
“I don’t know exactly how much the ground will dry out at this time of year but it should be good, fair ground, infinitely better than on the day of the Niel. We had thought he might like a bit of cut but he seems to prefer a better surface.
“We’re an outsider in the betting, so I don’t think you can talk about winning but he has a chance to be in the shake-up. He’s a nice, late-maturing horse but there’s Treve going for the historic treble and, if Golden Horn is added to the field, it could be the race of the year.”
Henry Candy hopes to break his Arc weekend duck with Limato, who will now take his chance in Sunday’s Prix de la Foret. The star three-year-old was committed to the race after a piece of work yesterday at his Oxfordshire yard.
“We’re planning to run,” Candy said. “If the ground is genuinely good, I think he’d have a good chance. On anything very much softer I’d be a bit worried.”
Limato will be having his second crack at a Group One contest, having chased home Muhaarar at Royal Ascot on the first occasion. He seemed to relish being stepped up to the Foret distance of seven furlongs when bolting up at Doncaster last time.
The concern for Candy is that Longchamp is expected by locals to remain on the soft side of good, despite a dry week in the build-up to Sunday. “Reading between the lines, it’ll probably be good to soft,” he said. “But I think if it is that, we’ll have to give it a go, having gone all the way over there.”
Limato is the 5-2 favourite for the Foret in the expected absence of the French-trained Esoterique, now due to run at Newmarket this weekend. His nearest rivals in the betting are offered at 8-1.
Reflecting on his Arc weekend experiences, the 70-year-old Candy said: “Time Charter was placed in the Arc [in 1983] after she had rather too hard a time winning the Prix Foy. Eveningperformance was placed in an Abbaye [in 1995]. And that’s about it.”
Limato will stay in training next year, when Candy plans to try him over a mile at some point.
