For Europe, it’s the big one, the autumn showdown in Paris that brings together the best middle-distance runners. The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) will be run Sunday for the 104th time, the $5.8 million centerpiece of a ParisLongchamp extravaganza featuring six Breeders' Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” spots for the Breeders’ Cup.
The Group 1s – the Prix Marcel Boussac; Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere; Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp; the Arc; Prix de l’Opera and Prix de la Foret – will award bids to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, Breeders' Cup Turf, Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and Breeders' Cup Mile respectively.
Not all the winners will be at Del Mar on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, but some will show up, along with a few also-rans.
Fox Sports will show the Arc live from 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET. It’s a French version of the Breeders’ Cup, with numerous top-class horses offering generous prices. And when you’re not studying the odds, check out the display of elegant fashion in the walking ring. C’est magnifique.
The first Arc was first contested in 1920, and it’s been an annual showcase except for 1939 and 1940, the first years of World War II. Among its winners were all-time greats Ribot (1955, 1956), Sea-Bird (1965), Mill Reef (1971), Alleged (1977, 1978) and Enable (2017, 2018). Only Enable swept the Arc and Breeders’ Cup Turf in the same year (2018), but Found also won both, taking the Turf in 2015 and the Arc the following season.
The Arc has no gender bias, because Enable and Found were among its five female champions in the last 10 runnings, as was 2024 heroine Bluestocking. As for the trainers, Andre Fabre will seek a record-extending ninth victory, while Aidan O’Brien goes for his third. Longshots Byzantine Dream, Croix Du Nord and Aloha Alii will try to give Japan its breakthrough after 25 years of frustration.
The course is expected to be good to soft, although French weather in the fall is notoriously changeable.
If you like to bet on horse racing, here are some thoughts about the Arc and the supporting stakes. Program numbers and odds are in parentheses.
Although O’Brien’s Minnie Hauk (1, 7-2) is the lukewarm favorite, she’s a hot item in his eyes. “She could be any kind,” he said. “A three-year-old filly can progress into another gear at this time of year.”
Her owners, the Coolmore group, thought enough of her chances that they paid a $140,400 supplementary fee on Wednesday to get her into the race.
Minnie Hauk is 5-for-6 lifetime and 4-for-4 this year, sweeping the Epsom, Irish and Yorkshire Oaks, all Group 1s. Her rider, Christophe Soumillon, was a longtime Longchamp regular and has won the Arc twice.
Her main rival could be last year’s Arc runner-up, Aventure (12, 9-2), who has been pointed to this race all season. Hot jockey Oisin Murphy is on Byzantine Dream (6, 10-1), perhaps Japan’s best hope. Don’t discount Fabre’s Cualificar (8, 12-1) and Sosie (3, 9-1), English filly Kalpana (9, 10-1) or French colt Daryz (3,14-1).
1 Minnie Hauk (Christophe Soumillon, Aidan O'Brien), 7-2
2 Daryz (Mickael Barzalona, Francis-Henri Graffard), 14-1
3 Sosie (Stephane Pasquier, Andre Fabre), 9-1
4 Alohi Alii (Christophe Lemaire, Hiroyasu Tanaka), 14-1
5 Giavellotto (Andrea Atzeni, Marco Botti), 20-1
6 Leffard (Cristian Demuro, Jean-Claude Rouget), 25-1
7 Quisisana (Alexis Pouchin, Francis-Henri Graffard), 25-1
8 Cualificar (William Buick, Andre Fabre), 12-1
9 White Birch (Dylan Browne McMonagle, John Joseph Murphy), 33-1
10 Kalpana (Colin Keane, Andrew Balding), 10-1
11 Hotazhell (Shane Foley, Mrs. John Harrington), 80-1
12 Aventure (Maxime Guyon, Christophe Ferland), 9-2
13 Gezora (Tom Marquand, Francis-Henri Graffard), 12-1
14 Los Angeles (Wayne Lordan, Aidan O'Brien), 25-1
15 Byzantine Dream (Oisin Murphy, Tomoyasu Sakaguchi), 10-1
16 Arrow Eagle (Ioritz Mendizabal, Jean-Claude Rouget), 100-1
17 Croix Du Nord (Yuichi Kitamura, Takashi Saito), 11-1 18 Estrange (Danny Tudhope, David O'Meara), 16-1 (scratched)
There are five other Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In’’ races on the card at Longchamp. Here are the picks:
Unbeaten Diamond Necklace makes her Group 1 debut after taking her first two races by open lengths. She’ll try to give Aidan O’Brien his sixth victory in the Marcel Boussac. Her main rivals are Green Spirit, Ozone and Aylin.
The picks: 1 Diamond Necklace 2 Green Spirit 3 Aylin
Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, 7 furlongs, turf, 2-year-olds (post time: 8:15 a.m.)
Rayif, who’s 2-for-2, cruised in a Group 3 at Deauville over this distance. Time To Turn edged A Bit Of Spirit going 7 furlongs at Ascot. O’Brien’s Puerto Rico overcame a slow start in a Group 2 last month and finally broke her maiden in her sixth start.
The picks: 1 Rayif 2 Time To Turn 3 Puerto Rico
Have fun with this 19-horse scramble. Star Australian mare Asfoora will try to rebound from a dud at the Curragh. At age 7 her best days may be behind her. First Instinct seems primed to outrun his odds and pull an upset. She’s Quality has three seconds in 2025 stakes. Five-furlong specialist Jm Jungle won a Group 2 two races back.
The picks: 1 First Instinct 2 She’s Quality 3 Jm Jungle
Aidan O’Brien’s son Joseph has trained winners of the Melbourne Cup (G1) and the Filly & Mare Turf, and he may have a live one in Wemighttakedlongway. See The Fire has great company lines, having chased stars Ombudsman, Delacroix and Anmaat this season. Her 2-for-14 record and short price are concerns, though. Aidan O’Brien’s January was a close second in July behind five-time stakes heroine Cinderella’s Dream.
The picks: 1 Wemighttakedlongway 2 See The Fire 3 January
Prix de la Foret, 7 furlongs, 3-year-olds and up (post time: 11:25 a.m.)
Zarigana, a three-time stakes winner, has three victories over a mile at Longchamp. The turnback to 7 furlongs should be no problem. More Thunder is only a head away from five consecutive wins, and that loss came in the 28-horse Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot. Trainer Andre Fabre’s Sajir won a Group 1 at Deauville and a Group 3 at Longchamp.
The picks: 1 Zarigana 2 More Thunder 3 Sajir
