IT LOOKS increasingly likely that the ground will be ideal for Sea The Stars to end his European classic season in style in Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, a race that will bring to a crescendo a massively important three days of big international races.
Ten Group One races will be run in France and Britain between Friday and Sunday, with six of those on Longchamp’s Sunday card.
The prospect of decent ground will also encourage hopes of the legendary stayer Yeats successfully bringing the curtain down on his career in the Prix Du Cadran.
But even with heavy Irish interest throughout the Arc weekend, most attention will centre on Sea The Stars.
John Oxx’s superstar colt is a general odds-on favourite to earn his sixth Group One success of 2009 in the €4 million highlight on the back of positive weather reports from Paris.
The ground at Longchamp was on the fast side of good yesterday and some watering is expected to take place today.
“It looks like being cloudy and there could be a little rain but nothing of significance,” said the Longchamp clerk of the course yesterday. “My objective is to have good ground for the Arc meeting. I will probably put on 2-3mm of water, as it doesn’t dry up very quickly at this time of year.”
That will be good news for Oxx, who plans to give Sea The Stars a final piece of work this morning.
The prospect of better ground also doesn’t appear to be worrying Tracey Collins ahead of Friday’s Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket, where the Curragh trainer plans to run her exciting juvenile Arctic.
Nine entries remain in the Group One juvenile prize, with a quartet of Aidan O’Brien-trained hopefuls headed by the Phoenix Stakes winner Alfred Nobel.
However, Collins said yesterday: “Arctic looks a horse that can handle most conditions. He has won his last two on heavy, but I would say he is possibly a better horse on better ground. He won his maiden on faster. It is a Group One race with some smart horses in it, but it’s great to be going there with a realistic chance.”
Friday’s other Group One prize at Newmarket is the Cheveley Park Stakes which has the O’Brien-trained Lillie Langtry and David Wachman’s Song Of My Heart among its list of hopefuls.
Dermot Weld has Sunday’s Prix de l’Opera in his sights for Chinese White, but has also kept open the option of Saturday’s Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket for the Moyglare-owned filly Mad About You.
Dundalk’s Diamond Stakes on Friday night may not be a Group One prize, but it does look like attracting O’Brien’s classic star Mastercraftsman ahead of a possible tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November.
